My Hero: A Sakura and Naruto Story
by HephaestusBuilds
Summary: Naruto is seemingly killed saving the village. How will the world react? Will the nations return to war? Will a hurting Kakashi remain Hokage? Will his replacement be up for the task? Will someone rise to gain power among the chaos? (This story has been CANCELLED as of 1/6/19. I'm sorry to those who wanted it to continue but it has been voted to be cancelled. A AN is up to explain)
1. The Day

Chapter 1: The Day

 **(Author's Note) (Edited: 12/29/18)**

 **Yes, before you all ask this is a Rewrite, a lot of you left feedback suggesting some changes so I decided to sit down and hopefully make it better. It took** _ **forever**_ **so I hope it was worth it. :) Now to the old stuff:**

 **Hey everyone, Hephaestus here! You guys have** _ **no**_ **how excited I am to release this first chapter of my next story. I have had this story in the works since before 'A Mission of Love'. In fact I had originally planned for this story to take its place but 'A Mission' turned into a full length story instead. I have several things to let you know about this fic and a few others so please bear with me and read all the way through my Author's Notes, they contain important information.**

 **Synopsis for this story:**

 **(This story is set almost two full years after the end of the Naruto series, no Boruto or movies here, they don't exist in this story. So forget them. Also filler, unless otherwise stated is NOT canon, so no mecha suits, talking ninja ostriches and no robot versions of characters.)**

 **What if when he's on the verge of becoming Hokage Naruto is seemingly killed by a masked stranger while protecting the village? How will the ninja world and more importantly the ones closest to him react without their blond hero and friend? Will the Elemental Nations threaten to return to war times? Will a hurting Kakashi be able to continue being Hokage anymore? Will his replacement be up for the task? Will the older generations be grateful that he is gone? Will members of an organization rise to take power in the Leaf among the confusion? Will a certain pinkette have the courage to tell her friend her true feelings before it is too late?**

 **Concerning Story and Characters:**

 **In this story I am going for a more powerful yet strictly not god-like Naruto. He's a physical powerhouse in this fic, using his chakra to give his blows more power. I never really like all the lasers and energy beams and five minute to produce super moves. So there won't be many. For reference Naruto is eighteen in this fic and so are the others in the Konoha Eleven unless otherwise stated. Kakashi is the sixth Hokage and everything up through the canon is included, no movies, sorry. For those who read my first Naruto story 'A Mission of Love' I want to give note saying that some characters, mostly Ino, will be redone in more of a line with the canon, with some of my own flare sprinkled in. She isn't romantically attracted to Naruto in this fic but won't deny that he grew up to be attractive. Other women may something along the same lines but unless explicitly stated they won't like Naruto in that way. Main pairings will be an eventual Sakura/Naruto, Shikamaru/Temari, Sasuke/Karin, some Ino/Sai with some others sprinkled in for fun. Naruto is more sensible and responsible in this story as well, he's still his usual self but he takes his role as Hokage seriously.**

 **Mature Content Warning:**

 **This will be a darker, deeper, more serious and what can, will go wrong kind of story compared to 'A Mission of Love'. This story is rated a strict M for themes such as death(obviously), blood, trauma(both physical and mental), PTSD(because I love it), brief explicit and graphic violence, suicide, alcohol abuse/addiction/withdrawal, emotional distress and the like. This fic will contain NO lemon whatsoever. There will be mention of it, themes, suggestive conversations and thoughts but no actual Lemon involved. People in this fic can and will get messed up, sometimes more emotionally than physically.**

 **Cover Art Request:**

 **I would LOVE to get some custom cover art down for this fic but I lack both the time and skill to do it myself. So if anyone out there would be willing to help me out please send me a PM. I can't pay you but we can work something out, maybe I can let whoever request a short story. I will use the image I found on Google until I get a custom one done.**

' **A Mission of Love':**

 **With 'A Mission' finally finished I can get back to writing this story. Please go check it out on my Profile if you somehow haven't yet.**

 **With all of that said(wow that was a lot, sorry) we can finally get into what I've been waiting for for so long. Enjoy.**

 **Don't forget to Review and Follow and Favorite both me and this story. Check out my Profile, vote on my Poll for my future stories and follow me on Twi tter, HephaestusBuil1**

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Prologue:

The almost two years after the Fourth Great Ninja War had been the most peaceful in ninja history. The five great elemental nations united together for the sake of peace and unity. Following in the footsteps of one Leaf ninja.

A certain young blond hero spent his time after the war traveling the ninja world to promote peace among the smaller villages. But whenever he wasn't traveling, he was training to become the next Hokage. The Lord Seventh Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. A dream, that the young blond had dreamed for his entire life. After the war, Naruto and his teammate and childhood crush, Sakura, became inseparable, spending almost all of their free time together training, eating lunch or just hanging out whenever they weren't busy. Naruto with his training to become Hokage and Sakura being the head medic at the Konoha hospital. However, despite their closeness, if you asked either of the two young ninja then they would say that they had decided to move on from their previous feelings. Trapping the two in an endless cycle of 'will they, won't they'. Frustrating both their friends and sensei alike.

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My Hero

A Sakura and Naruto Story

By HephaestusBuilds

Chapter 1: The Day

Note:

"Normal conversation/Narration"

' _Thoughts'_

" _Mind Jutsus"_

" _ **Kurama text"**_

Today was _the_ day, the day that the newly promoted Chunin was to take his Jonin test, the last step in his lengthy preparation to become the next Hokage. So the village hero sat meditating, preparing himself for whatever was about to come. He wasn't told any specifics, but he did know that some of his friends were going to be there as well. Today was his day, if he passed this test then he would be announced as the next Hokage, his biggest dream, but the blond had trouble focusing, because today was also an anniversary, the two year anniversary to be exact, of a day that he wished he could forget but knew was impossible. Today was the two year anniversary of Pain's attack on the village. Needless to say but this day changed Naruto's life forever, for the better in his opinion, but _this_ day, and the events preceding and following, burned a deep scar into his mind. Later today there was going to be a dedication of a memorial for all of the people that had been killed during that time. The village hero felt his heart rate increase slightly.

' _Deep breaths. Push it aside.'_ Naruto thought as he sat straight as a pole on the floor of a room in the Konoha arena. ' _Now is not the time to think about that, about… him. Right now I need to prepare for my Jonin test. I need to make him proud.'_

And not a second after thinking that thought, the door to Naruto's private room swung open, revealing an ANBU wearing a turtle mask.

"Come, Naruto-sama, your test is about to begin." Was all he said before he turned and started walking towards the arena.

Walking through the thick metal gate into the arena, Naruto had to squint his eyes from the harsh morning sun that beamed down onto the village. Being in the arena felt nostalgic, this was the very same arena that his first chunin exams took place all those years ago. However, unlike the first, this time he was the main event, he was no longer the second act to Sasuke. If only his blood brother could be here to witness his test. But he was off 'atoning for his sins' or whatever the hell he was doing. Naruto was of the opinion that he just wanted some time alone with Karin.

Naruto stood in the center of the arena and looked at the crowd, to his surprise the entire place was packed. It looked like the whole village was there to see him take his test. This confused him, sure, he expected _some_ people like Iruka-sensei whom he invited to show up to watch, but the entire village? The blond didn't expect this large of a crowd in any way.

Using his sharp eyesight to scan through the stands, Naruto's spirit fell a little when he couldn't find any of his friends except Iruka-sensei. Not even Konohamaru or Sakura were there as far as he could see.

' _Focus. Don't worry about them, I'm sure that they're busy or something.'_ The blond thought to himself as his eyes spotted movement coming from the Hokage's box. He turned his head to see not only Kakashi the Hokage, but the four other Kage standing next to him with their assistants next to them. Now _this_ , was not something that Naruto was expecting to say the least. He knew that the other Kage were here for the memorial dedication later today but he didn't expect any of them to come and watch his test. Maybe except for Gaara if he had the time, that is. The blond thought about it, exactly what was his test going to be? Traditionally, a Jonin test would be rather simple, compared to the Genin and Chunin tests, after a recommendation from a parent or adult and a confirmation from the Hokage, the future Jonin in question only had to take a simple test to demonstrate a few abilities and jutsus. And those tests normally never had audiences like this, or even an eighth this size, or even took place in the arena. So what was going on?

Naruto watched as Kakashi, dressed in his full Kage attire, which Naruto knew he loathed, just as they other Kage were, stepped up to the microphone and cleared his throat. In an instant the small talking crowd silenced themselves, looking up to their Hokage and waiting for him to begin.

"Welcome, people of the Leaf, Sand, Cloud, Stone and Mist." Kakashi uncharastically seemed enthusiastic to Naruto. He seemed too happy, too upbeat, too… peppy. Kakashi peppy? Yup, something's off.

"As you all know, we are here today to celebrate one shinobi. One man. One Naruto Uzumaki." The overpacked crowd cheered his name but Naruto kept his composure and remained stoic, he had to remain professional for what was about to come.

Kakashi continued. "We are here to fully acknowledge Naruto as a ninja of the Hidden Leaf, by having him take his test to reach the Jonin rank. Now, as all of you who are aware, this is not a usual Jonin test. Think of this as a…" He paused, searching for the word. " _Display of power_ for the entire ninja world and a demonstration for the next generations to follow. I want all fledgling ninja in attendance to watch carefully and be inspired to take your ninja training seriously. With enough practice and dedication you may find yourself here one day." He said, confusing the entire audience except the select few that knew what was going on. The other Kage excluded. Onoki, the Tsuchikage, raised a grey eyebrow to this and looked to his fellow Kage, none of them knew what was going on it seemed.

"But before we begin, let me introduce to you our participant. The hero of the Fourth Great Ninja War, the savior of the Leaf Village, and the host to the Nine-Tailed Fox, Naruto Uzumaki!" The Hokage boomed to the crowd, something that was not in his usual character at all. Naruto raised a brow, he couldn't help but notice Kakashi's strange behavior.

Said blond rose his fist slowly into the air at the sound of his name, his mind trying to figure out what kind of tricks Kakashi had up his sleeve for him. He never acted this way, something was definitely up.

Naruto lowered his fist as the Hokage continued. "Continuing with the introductions, let me introduce you to his opponents; the remaining members of the Konoha Eleven!" Kakashi said with a hand pointed to the metal gate at the other end of the arena. Opening to reveal Naruto's closest friends and allies. Shikamaru walked out first, with Lee, Sai, Kiba and Choji behind him forming a 'V'. Hinata, Tenten, Shino and Ino formed a smaller V behind the first with Ino standing at the center of the smaller 'V'. With a brief nod from Shikamaru the others spread out a little but kept their formation. Opening weapon pouches and weapon scrolls for Tenten's case. The blond looked over his friends in confusion, was Sakura not participating? Was she too busy at the hospital to attend? Regardless of the reason this was good, now he didn't have to worry about accidentally hurting her. He could never pull his punches enough on her, in his opinion, when sparring. Despite her claims that she could take it, of course.

Naruto watched as his closest friends silently got into their fighting stances as they waited for the fight to begin. The blond eyed them curiously, with Shikamaru in the fight as well then he would have to be careful. He knew the there was no way that he'd be able to outthink Shikamaru when it came to battle strategy, _that_ was obvious. Shikamaru clearly had a plan, otherwise he wouldn't have had their friends form two V's like that.

"Now, before we begin, let us go over the rules for this test." The silver haired Hokage began. "In the order of fairness for his opponents, Naruto is not allowed to use his Sage Mode or the like for this battle. Additionally, he is restricted to no more than ten shadow clones. No summoning animals or the like for all participants, weapons, ink and insects excluded, for Sai and Shino respectively. Also, do not worry about injuries, as we have our very own Lady Tsunade and her excellent team of medical nin here to heal any injuries. So please fight to your _full potential_." He implied towards his young blond student.

Kakashi then took his first real look at Naruto, he was the spitting image of his father, the late fourth Hokage and his sensei, Minato Namikaze. He stood well over six feet and wore his now usual black ANBU pants and jacket with orange buttons and finishes over a black fishnet undershirt. Kakashi couldn't be more proud for his young student, today was his day. The day that he would be announced Hokage, announce his true heritage and fulfill his biggest dream. He had no doubt that Naruto would ace this test, even with the odds in his opponent's favor. Naruto was the most powerful ninja in his village, and the case could be made that he was the most powerful ninja in modern times across the entire world. Something that the silver haired Hokage made a bet about with the other Kage, and something that he was determined to win and prove his student and soon to be successor's power.

' _Make me proud, Naruto. And show the world what you can do.'_ He thought as he raised his hand high. "Are all participants ready?" He asked the young adults below him. With a simple nod from them, he quickly lowered his arm and yelled. " _Hajime_!"

In a flash the Konoha Eleven attacked, with Lee and Kiba using their impressive speeds to strike Naruto within the blink of an eye. Naruto's arm came up to block Lee's kick without even thinking of it. Much to the disbelief of the crowd and the Konoha 11, Naruto didn't even flinch when Lee made contact. In a flash Naruto grabbed Lee's foot with his other hand and slammed him into Kiba's side, sending the two shinobi flying back a few yards.

A barrage of arrows and kunai from Tenten's weapon scroll blocked Naruto's advancement towards the still standing group. The crowd watched as the literal blackened sky of falling bladed weapons flew towards the blond hero. A few villagers looked away as the cloud got within a few inches of him.

"Art of the Raging Lion's Mane!" Was all the audience heard before a forest of blond hair, now having the strength of hardened steel, encircled Naruto, completely protecting him from the barrage of arrows and kunai. The Konoha Eleven stared with their mouths slightly open at seeing Naruto easily shrug of their attack. The lengthened blond hair began to shrink back to its owner just as the dust cloud began to die down.

"Second wave!" Shikamaru ordered as Shino and Sai stepped forwards revealing their signature attacks. Shino had his arms raised, a black cloud of flying insects above his head swirled as Sai's scroll was thrown to the ground as a pair of large beasts made of ink leaped forwards.

Naruto stood still with his hands at his sides as the pair of large beasts raced towards him with a wave of insects behind them. He waited until the beasts were a just a few feet away before he brought his hands up in an unknown hand sign. Shikamaru watched from his position as he studied Naruto's moves. It was his job to analyze Naruto's movements and come up with a counter strategy specifically for him. _But_ that was easier said than done. With all of his time spent at the Hokage's tower being the head strategist and assistant, he hadn't had time to study Naruto and his new techniques like he wanted. So the genius of the Leaf was more or less flying blind, he had no information about any of Naruto's new jutsus or techniques, this wasn't going to be easy at all. It was so troublesome.

"Hikigaeru no shōheki!*" The blond yelled as a sphere of chakra shot from his body forming a barrier around him, the ink beasts and the insects. Instantly, Sai's ink figures collapsed and fell to the ground, becoming a puddle in the dirt. While Shino's insects rapidly became disoriented and flew off in several directions all at once.

Needless to say that the Konoha Eleven didn't expect this, Shikamaru included, he knew that Naruto was beginning to study seals and barriers like his late sensei, but he didn't expect his blond friend to become this masterful of them so quickly.

"Damn it." Said Nara heir muttered under his breath.

"Shikamaru, what now?" Chouji asked from in his position in front of him.

"What's the plan?" Kiba asked as he helped Lee to his feet a few yards to their left.

"Is it time?" Ino asked from the back of the group. Shikamaru shook his head.

"No. Not yet." His voice turned more authoritative and the others snapped to attention. "Hinata, Tenten, help Lee and Kiba! Keep Naruto in the same spot. Don't let him think for a second and use his clones!" The Nara heir ordered as the ninja around him nodded and did as he said.

Lee dramatically threw aside his leg weights, causing the earth to shake from their weight and speed, and charged Naruto at full speed, jumping back and forth and side to side to try to confuse his opponent. Meanwhile, Kiba began his own charge at Naruto on all fours as he used his transformation jutsu, turning him into a werewolf-looking monster, with sharpened claws and teeth. Hinata followed her boyfriend Kiba as she activated her Byakugan and charged her chakra into her fists. Tenten was in the back, her ever present weapon scroll at her side as she summoned a bow and a set of arrows from it. She had it aimed at Naruto by the time Lee reached him, an impressive feat to say the least.

"My apologies, Naruto-kun! But Guy-sensei would not forgive me if I let you off easily!" The green clad ninja yelled dramatically as he spun and flipped in the air, sending a powerful axe kick towards the blond's head. Reacting before the eye could blink, Naruto shot his arms up above his head and caught Lee's kick as if it were nothing. Naruto stood there for a second holding Lee above his head before he silently cursed himself, _he left himself completely open!_

Shooting his eyes to Tenten, Naruto could see her right hand release the arrow pointed at his stomach. The arrow flew faster than the eye could see and Tenten was sure that she would get him but just as the arrow was a foot away a pair of red arms made of pure chakra shot out of his sides and caught the arrow a few inches from his chest.

' _Thanks, Kurama.'_ Naruto thanked the fox inwardly. He sure saved his butt that time.

" _ **No problem, kit, now, let's kick it up a notch and show them what we can do!"**_ The chakra beast laughed. He was having too much fun with this.

' _Will do, Fluffy.'_ Naruto said to the fox as Kurama growled at the mention of his accursed nickname.

"Better luck next time, Lee." Naruto almost mocked as he once again grabbed Lee and threw him at his teammate, though this time Kiba managed to dodge as he raced towards the blond.

"Come on, Naruto, let's go!" Kiba challenged as he sent a clawed swing at his head. Naruto simply used one muscular arm to forcefully block the swipe.

"Aahhh!" Kiba couldn't help but yell, he felt like he broke his fingers in that last attack. Three of his fingers were numb and one felt like it was dislocated. He'd have to switch up his attacks, Naruto's 'hard' style of blocking caused more damage for the attacker than the defender, he'd have to watch out for a counter attack.

"Hiyaaa!" Kiba screamed as he sent a kick to Naruto's exposed stomach. But again the chakra arms caught the attack and sent him flying back. Hinata was the next to attack, she unleashed a powerful barrage of light strikes to Naruto's midsection.

"Eight Trigrams, Sixteen Palms!" The shy heiress yelled as she struck faster than the eye could see. "Thirty-two Palms! Sixty-four Palms! One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms!" She screamed as she finished her attack.

Smiling, Hinata took a small step back, she managed to strike all of Naruto's chakra points, he wouldn't be able to use any chakra anymore. They were sure to win now! But before she could celebrate anymore a powerful blast of wind was sent into her stomach, flying her back and almost toppling her over in the process.

"H-how? N-Naruto-kun, how d-did you…?" She stuttered out.

Said blond gave her a slight smirk. "Come on, Hinata, it's _never_ that easy. What have I been teaching you this past year? You want to be able to surpass your dad and Neji, right?" He asked, not answering her question.

"B-but, how?" She asked again. "I-I blocked all of you c-chakra points. Y-you shouldn't even be a-able to move."

"Simple." He answered as he deflected five shuriken thrown by Tenten with a gust of wind. "Us Uzumaki are masters of sealing. I simply sealed all of my chakra inside of me before you attacked. My chakra along with Kurama's acted as a barrier that protected my chakra points from your Gentle Fist Technique. His chakra can deflect any opponents from getting too close." He stated as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

Eyes narrowing, the Hyuga princess charged again, this time with masses of blue chakra surrounding her hands. Swing after swing, blow after blow, Naruto continued to effortlessly block and redirect her attacks either to the side or back at herself.

Seeing another punch racing towards his face, the blond hero snaked his hand along her fist down under her wrist into her swing and caught her arm just above the inside of her elbow, instantly stopping the punch. Sending a smirk her way, Naruto twisted his wrist and jabbed his thumb into her pressure point, causing the shy kunoichi to grit her teeth in pain. Naruto then used his right had to attack her exposed stomach with two outstretched fingers, causing the girl to hunch over. As she was bending over in pain from the nerve strike, the blond Uzumaki heir did a series of one handed signs before placing a lightly glowing finger on her forehead.

Hinata's eyes blinked twice before they closed fully and the girl went limp, unconscious from Naruto's jutsu. Catching the girl before she fell to the ground, Naruto used one arm to redirect a golden spear thrown by the weapons mistress as the other swung Hinata carefully into the arms of a medical nin standing on the edge of the arena.

"She's just under a sleep jutsu." He told the medic as Tenten swung a bo staff at his head. "Just send some chakra through the center of her forehead and the temple, it'll release the jutsu." He smiled to the confused looking medic who watched as he effortlessly blocked the staff with his left arm and pulled back on it with his right, snapping the wooden staff in two as he told her what to do.

Throwing the piece of the broken staff back towards Tenten, Naruto decided it was time to take her out so he wouldn't have to worry about her ranged attacks anymore. Pervy Sage _did_ always tell him to take out the ranged fighters first, he'd _surely_ knock him down a few points if he were here. Charging towards the shorter, bun haired girl, he heard a shriek as she blocked the thrown staff with a newly obtained sword. Deciding to have some fun, Naruto opened his weapons pouch for the first time and pulled out a pair of metal chakra blades used for channeling Elemental Natures.

Slipping on the blades onto his hands, the blond sent a decent amount of air chakra into them to deflect the sword aimed at his head.

"Nice try, Naruto, but you'll have to try better than that to beat me! I _am_ the one who taught you how to fight against a sword, you know." The weapons mistress basically taunted him.

Naruto returned the light hearted teasing. "Wait, you were _teaching_ me something? I never noticed." He channeled his wind nature into his chakra blades and effortlessly sliced through Tenten's sword as she tried to strike him.

Tenten let out a shriek as she watched her beloved sword get split into three parts. " _Naruto_!" She yelled. " _Come on_ , a staff is one thing but that was my _favorite_ sword!" She cried as she summoned a pair of twin blades from her scroll.

"Oh, sorry 'bout that, Tenten." Naruto apologized as he dodged her attacks with ease. "I'll pay you back, okay?"

"You're _gonna_ pay for it!" She cried as threw a smoke bomb to the ground, covering half the arena in a blackened veil of smoke.

Naruto stood still in the veil, eyes closed, ears and nose open. ' _This is too easy.'_ He thought. ' _Who does she think I am?'_

Naruto stood motionless, waiting for an attack to come. He expected a ranged attack from Tenten or a close range attack from Lee or Kiba, not a short blade thrust at his face.

Naruto easily dodged Sai's sword, albeit it took a little more effort to detect him in the smoke than he expected.

"Nice one, Naruto." Sai said from inside the smoke wall. "Not many can detect my movements like that."

"Hhmmp." Naruto grinned in the smoke. "I could smell you a mile away thanks to Kurama, next time tell Tenten to add chile powder to the smoke bombs."

"I will make a note to tell her." Sai said monotone as ever as he sent a fury of swings at Naruto to only be deflected by his chakra blades.

"So tell me, Sai," Naruto let out a small grunt as he blocked another attack from Kiba as he simultaneously held back Sai. "What's Shikamaru's plan?"

Naruto collided his left fist with Kiba's stomach, sending the dog user to his knees, clutching his stomach in pain.

"Damn... Naruto, this is... j-just a exhibition match, tone it down a... little, man, would you?" Kiba forced out in a hoarse whisper, his lungs gasping for air.

"Oh, Sorry, Kiba." Naruto apologised as he deflected Sai's fist into Kiba's face. "Oooh! Sorry about that, too."

"Ugh." Kiba let out from on the ground. His nose felt like it was broken and he felt like he was going to hurl. "You can't take me out that easily, Naruto!" He cried as he rose to his feet, swinging a clawed hand at Naruto just as Lee jumped into the fray.

"THE THIRD GATE OF LIFE! OPEN!" Lee screamed as he sent a powerful kick to Naruto's midsection.

"Hhggg!" Naruto grunted from the impact. Even though he managed to catch the kick, the sheer amount of force caused him to be pushed back a few feet, his boots sliding through the dirt. The crowd gasped in unison, it was the first time in the whole match the Naruto seemed to have to struggle.

Naruto smiled at the green clad ninja whom he was still holding. "Finally getting serious, eh, Bushy Brows?" Tightening his grip on Lee, Naruto sent some chakra through his arms and lifted Lee through the air, spinning in a circle and slamming Lee into Sai and Kiba, knocking the latter two to the ground.

The smoke cleared as Naruto's impromptu fan blew away the remaining smoke. Revealing an Kiba unconscious under a Sai who was favouring his right hand, most likely broken from the look of it. Lee was in the best shape of the three, he quickly jumped to his feet. His skin was red with the flowing power of the Third Gate. Said ninja brought himself into his fighting stance before dashing back towards Naruto at full speed.

"FOURTH GATE OF PAIN! OPEN!" Lee screamed, his speed dramatically increased, causing him to reach Naruto in the blink of an eye.

"YOSH! THAT'S THE POWER OF YOUTH!" Guy screamed from his seat next to the other adults of the village. Seated next to him was Kurenai, who was trying in vain to stop the ringing in her ears from Guy's _more than usual_ over the top screaming.

"SHOW HIM THE RESULTS OF YOUR TRAINING MY ADORABLE YOUNG STUDENT!" Guy cheered enthusiastically.

From the arena, a grunt of pain was heard as Naruto dislocated Lee's shoulder from the socket. Lee tried to use his other arm to swing at the blond hero but it was caught and was forced to share the same fate as his other arm. The crowd simultaneously winced in pain as they heard the 'pop'.

"NO NO, LEE!" Guy screamed at his student. "YOU'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO SURPASS NARUTO WITH THAT LITTLE AMOUNT OF PASSIONATE YOUTH!"

From his seat a few feet over, Iruka watched in awe of his favorite student as he single handedly defended against Sai and Lee's combined attacks. ' _Come on Naruto,'_ he thought. ' _What are you waiting for? I_ _ **know**_ _that you are stronger than this. Show everyone what you can do.'_

"Wow," Kurenai spoke up since the first time the match started. She was busy watching Naruto's impressive Taijutsu skills as Guy screamed about how Lee wasn't being 'youthful' enough. She leaned over to Guy.

"You _do_ have to admit, Guy, that Naruto _is_ a master in Taijutsu in his own right." She said to her green clad comrade.

Guy stopped mid yell and turned towards her dramatically in his seat. "Yes, of course young Naruto is a master of Taijutsu in his own right, I know that better than anyone as the one who taught him." Guy's voice dropped from his usual volume and bravado and to a regular talking volume, well normal for Guy, that is. Guy turned back to the arena, his arms tensed as he watched his two students duke it out.

"When young Naruto came to me after the war and asked me to teach him the noble and youthful art of Taijutsu, I only agreed so that I could judge his current level and potential." Guy became silent as Lee was thrown into a nearby wall by Naruto, knocking the green clad ninja unconscious. "As you know, I only take the best of the best as my students when it comes to Taijutsu training. At first I did not believe that young Naruto had the resolve and determination to handle my level of training."

Anyone who knew Guy and Lee knew of their legendary feats when it came to training. Only a select few _could even handle_ the sheer amount of physical strain that his training entailed. Kurenai for one knew of no one else in the village other than Lee and Naruto who _volunteered_ for that level of physical training. It was a testament to their resolve and power that they were even able to keep up with someone of Guy's fame and caliber.

"So for the first few months I only humored young Naruto, I kept him within the basic forms and stances to judge how powerful he was. But before I knew it…" Guy stopped as he and the entire audience watched Naruto lift Sai over his head and slam him down onto his knee. Sai didn't get up from the hit and Naruto rushed off to counter a sword swing from Tenten. A pair of medical ninja rushed over to remove Sai from the arena.

"But what?" Iruka asked, speaking up for the first time.

"But after a few months... _something_ happened that I never thought possible." Guy said as he watched in awe as Naruto seamlessly switched through a half dozen fighting styles in order to block, counter, and confuse Tenten. "I learned that there was nothing left that I could teach him."

He gestured down to the blond ninja. "Look at how seamless his movements are. Karate, Jiu-jitsu, Muay Thai, Judo, Wing Chun, Tai Chi, he has mastered all of those in just a year and a half with the help of his shadow clones. He knows dozens of styles that I did not even teach him. He even knows a few that I've never even seen before… I do not even know the extent of his power when it comes to Taijutsu."

Both Iruka and Kurenai, along with some of the adults in the village looked to Guy in awe. For _him_ of all people to admit that someone was better than him in Taijutsu… then that person was truly a master in their own right.

"Gaaah!" Tenten screamed as Naruto launched a powerful punch to her stomach. The blond in question had had his fun fighting with Tenten and her endless amount of weapons but he knew that he was only stalling for time because it was fun to try to defend against a weapon he had never faced before. But he knew that the longer he stalled for then the longer it would take for the announcement ceremony. And _nothing_ on Kami's green earth could keep him from that. He'd been dreaming about this day for years.

Naruto swept Tenten into his arms bridal style as he dodged a gigantic fist from Choji that would've crushed the weapons mistress. Choji used his clan's special jutsu to increase his size until he was around fifty feet tall. The Akimichi heir towered over the arena with a slightly smug smile. He had been waiting for Shikamaru's 'go head' to join the fight. Except for Shino, who was now hanging back since his bugs had flown off, the remaining ninja, Shikamaru and Ino, were still standing towards the edge of the arena with Ino in the back behind Shikamaru.

"It's my turn, Naruto!" Choji yelled from his spot in between Naruto and the others. "If ya want to get to Shikamaru and Ino then ya gotta get through me first!"

"You got it, Choji!" Naruto yelled back, waving for a pair of medical ninja to take Tenten from his arms, once he was sans Tenten, Naruto rushed towards the giant and used his chakra to run up his leg.

"Impressive." Said Mei, the Mizukage as she watched Naruto with a burning hawk-like gaze. "If only he was a few years older..." She mumbled to herself.

A, the Raikage scoffed at her words. "Impressive? Ha! The boy hasn't even broken a sweat yet." He turned to Kakashi and pointed a finger at him. "You bet us that your student was the strongest person in your village, we have all seen the boy's power first hand but his performance so far has been… _lacking_."

"I agree with A." Onoki, the Tsuchikage said from his spot leaning against the railing as he watched the fight. "I understand that Naruto is restricted by not being able to use his Sage Mode but if he were serious then this fight would've been over as soon as it started."

Kakashi's eyes widened a little at the other Kage, before the war this scene before him would never be happening. It was all because of his blond student that the five Kage could be sitting here like this, talking like old friends. But they were right and he knew it, Naruto wasn't being serious. He was still playing around with Choji, running around on his back as Choji tried to grab him.

"He's bored." Gaara, the Kazekage said from the far end of the line of Kage. The other Kage and their assistants looked to him to continue. "Naruto told me so the last time he was in Suna, he hasn't had a serious battle since the end of the war. He hasn't had to try in a fight in two years. He's bored." Gaara said in his even tone. The line of Kage all nodded silently to each other, agreeing. As their village's strongest ninja they all knew the feeling of not being challenged enough when it came to a fight.

"That's true." Kakashi said from under his mask, sighing. "I had hoped that this fight would push Naruto and relight his love for a challenge. But as it stands now, none of the Konoha Eleven can match him _even_ with these handicaps." Kakashi watched the fight for a while in silence, the other Kage, namely A, kept critiquing Naruto's form and attacks even though they were nearly perfect. Only a little sloppy because he wasn't putting his all into it.

Shino had rejoined the fight, albeit that wasn't saying much since his insects had been disabled by Naruto. So Shino was forced to wage a war of Taijutsu with the undisputed master of Taijutsu in the village, so it was over in a second. Naruto sent several heavy punches into Shino's gut before finally using a series of rapid fire nerve strikes to disable the bug user and leave him helplessly paralyzed on the ground. It was back to Naruto and Choji with Shikamaru and Ino still holding back by the gate.

Kakashi watched them closely, while he didn't know Shikamaru's plan, he knew that the genius of the Leaf _had_ a plan in mind. He never went into a fight without a few dozen back ups at least. The Hokage was trying to figure out his plan though, it was strange in his mind that Shikamaru had decided to have them attack in waves and not all at once. While it was true that Naruto would _still_ be able to defeat them all at once, it was still a better plan than having two of their members hold back. The Nara heir was in his usual thinking position, kneeling on the ground as his hands were formed together. It was obvious that he was thinking about how to take down Naruto. Perhaps he was waiting for an opening to use his Shadow Possession Jutsu? Kakashi didn't know what the genius was planning. But even more curious was that one of the members of the Konoha Eleven had yet to reveal herself.

"... that's nothing special, Mei." A scoffed again. Kakashi was shaken from his thoughts as he realised that A was talking to them all as a group again. They were all looking at Naruto who was busy increasing his speed and zooming around Choji's feet in order to cause the giant to lose his balance. "Let me go down there and show you what true speed looks like. The boy's speed is dismal at best."

"Would you like to, A?" Kakashi said very suddenly. The other Kage all turned to look at him with confused faces. "If you are not satisfied with Naruto's performance then please, be my guest and challenge him."

The entire Kage's balcony went silent after Kakashi's words. Gaara's eyes widened silently as Mei's jaw dropped. Onoki looked to Kakashi in disbelief.

"You _can't_ be serious, Kakashi." Onoki started. "Having a demonstration between Naruto and your ninja is _one thing_ but a fight between Naruto and a Kage? We have _never_ done something like that before."

Kakashi kept a straight face under his mask. "Then now would be a perfect time to." He turned to A. "If you _believe_ that you can defeat Naruto then be my guest, try your hand and see how well you can do. My previous bet still stands."

A stood tall and grunted. "You can't use your mind games on me, Kakashi. You don't believe that I will!" He dramatically threw off his Kage robe and hat, punching through the railing instead of simply jumping over it and onto the ground below. With a loud 'thud' the Raikage appeared at the edge of the arena. The entire crowd went silent, when the dust cleared the Raikage glared at Naruto.

"Come at me, boy!" A screamed towards the young blond who was busy deflecting a giant fist thrown by Choji. "Your Hokage bet me my weight in gold that you could beat me! And after watching your subpar performance makes me believe that you can't beat me!"

Kakashi let out a sigh and rubbed his nose through his mask. _What had he just done?_ Everyone knew that the Raikage _never_ turned down a challenge. But Kakashi had grown tired of the other Kage's words of his student. They _all_ knew that he was better than this but still, it was frustrating. Perhaps now A, as well as the other Kage, would finally admit Naruto's power outloud.

Kakashi stepped forward and raised his hand to silence the crowd, who all turned to look at him as soon as he did so.

"The Raikage-sama, A, has requested to test his abilities against Naruto's!" He yelled to the crowd. The crowd was a mixture of disbelief and awe. "Shall we permit him his request?"

The entire crowd was up on their feet, hands in the air and voices raised. The momentarily eerie silence was replaced by a cacophonous roar of voices. Not a single soul stayed quiet as the entire arena cheered for a battle of legends.

"You can take 'em, Naruto-sama!" Screamed a random voice in the crowd.

"Show the Cloud what you got!" Yelled another.

"That old man has nothing on the Hero of the Hidden Leaf!" Shouted another.

"Show the Raikage what happens when you challenge the Leaf, Uzumaki-sama!" Screamed a man at the top of the stands.

"I love you, Naruto-sama! Please marry me!" A woman screamed out. _Well_ , maybe not _all_ of the shouts were about the fight.

Naruto looked around to his friends and to the crowd. What was going on? Was this supposed to happen? He turned around slowly as he listened to the cheers of his village. Everyone was cheering for him. For _him_. Never had he felt this feeling since his battle with Pain. This is what he had always wanted as a kid. But fighting the Raikage? Even in a simple sparring match, Naruto knew from personal experience that going against the Raikage was _never_ wise. He wasn't considered one of the strongest shinobi in the world for nothing. Naruto looked up to his sensei, Kakashi, looking for some sort of direction. But what he received was a stoic look that read 'it's your choice'. He was about to voice against the challenge when through the wall of cheers he recognized a single, familiar voice.

"You can do it, Naruto! I believe in you." Iruka smiled as his blond student turned to look at him. He sent his student a nod and another smile. He knew that his student had this in the bag.

Naruto let out a breath before looking back to A who was visibly agitated that he was being ignored and that the entire Leaf Village was saying that he would lose. He'd show them!

From the back of the stands, starting as a low purr, it quickly turned into a soft cheer before it blew into an all encompassing veil of sound as the entire crowd, including Naruto's friends and teachers, burst into chant.

"NA-RU-TO! NA-RU-TO! NA-RU-TO!" The entire audience cheered his name. Cheering for him to take on the Raikage. With no other choice, and not that he _wouldn't_ want to try his hand at fighting the Raikage again, Naruto faced the crowd and raised his fist to the sky silently. The entire village cheered before quickly dying down and looking to the arena in anticipation.

Naruto turned his attention back to the Raikage and gave him a smug smile. "You really think you can keep up with me, old man?" He taunted in good will.

A grit his teeth in rage. "Do _not_ mock me, boy!" He screamed as he stepped closer to the blond. "I am the fastest ninja to have ever lived! You do not even compare to me!"

Naruto gave him a fake confused look and continued. "But I always thought that the Fourth Hokage was _faster_ than you. He even beat you once if I remember correctly." He said as he tapped his chin in fake thought.

The entire crowd let out a 'ooh' at Naruto's remark. Kakashi let out a sigh, his student had better watch his mouth considering what was going to be announced later today.

A only grit his teeth even harder, holding back his tongue. He looked up towards the Hokage balcony and shouted. "Well, what are you waiting for, Hatake? Start the match already!" He roared.

Kakashi sent a sympathetic look towards the remaining members of the Konoha Eleven, they were all really looking forwards to this fight but now with the Raikage of all people involved they would be pushed aside without a doubt. Kakashi turned back to the microphone and cleared his voice.

"I have come to a decision that I believe that everyone will enjoy!" He yelled to the crowd, he was getting into this now, no one was more excited to see Naruto at his peak than him. He had been grooming himself to be the best ninja he could be since the end of the war two years ago, Naruto spent every second of everyday pushing his body and mind to the absolute limit in order to reach his full potential. If Kakashi were better with words than he'd have a better word for it, but he didn't, the only word he could use to describe himself in this moment was _exhilarated_. He was ready for the world to finally see his student and soon to be successor's power.

He turned to the remaining members of the Konoha Eleven and A. "You all are permitted to challenge Naruto if you wish." He announced to both the crowd and the Kage. "The bout will last for fifteen minutes, and in that time if anyone of you manages to either knock Naruto unconscious or cause him to forfeit then they will be given their weight in gold!" He yelled, repeating his earlier bet with the Kage before the match.

The entire audience was silent, not a single voice could be heard. They were all processing what they just heard. From next to him, Kakashi felt someone tap on his arm. It was Shizune, he leaned in to let her whisper in his ear.

"Kakashi-sama," She whispered hesitantly. "Do you _really_ think that this is a good idea?"

"I do, yes." He answered simply with a nod. "I wish for Naruto to be able to display his power to the world. This is the best way to do it."

"But you're turning the Raikage against him. One of the most powerful ninja in the world. Surely you don't think that this isn't impossible?" She retorted softly.

"Once he's the Hokage he will be faced with seemingly impossible situations every day, think of this as training." He smiled to her under his mask. He turned back to the microphone and continued.

"So…?" He asked, looking down to the ninja below him expectantly, letting it hang. "Anyone up for the challenge?"

The entire crowd spoke at once, talking about if their Hokage had gone crazy. Fighting against one Kage was one thing but fighting one _and_ some of the Leaf's top ninja all at once? That was suicidal.

"Now hold on, Hatake!" The Raikage roared. "I wished to fight the boy in single combat, I don't need of your ninja in my way as we fight!"

Kakashi sent him an unseen smile under his mask. "My decision stands, Raikage-sama. Unless… you wish to forfeit and admit defeat?"

That was it, that was it right there. That was what pushed A over the edge. He let out a feral cry before turning back to Naruto. "Show me what you got, boy! And try to not embarrass yourself too easily!"

So now Naruto stood once again in front of his friends as they stood in their varying stances. But now the Raikage himself stood at the front of the group, glaring at the blond as he listened to Shikamaru whisper what Naruto assumed was their strategy in his ear.

The Raikage shrugged the Nara heir off. "I _don't_ need any help coming up with a strategy from you, boy! _I am the Raikage!_ "

But Shikamaru only gave him a lazy look. "And _I'm_ the head military strategist for the Leaf, Raikage-sama. Even _you_ have to admit that we all stand a better chance of beating Naruto if we team up." He leaned a little close and after shooting a look over to Naruto he whispered. "We have an _ace in the hole_ …"

A gave Shikamaru a look like he was insulted before it quickly became softer. "Fine!" He admitted. "Tell me this plan of yours." Shikamaru then continued to tell his plan to the Raikage out of earshot of Naruto.

Once everyone was ready, Kakashi stepped back up to the microphone and cleared his throat. "Now let us go over the rules for this bout," He started. "Naruto's limitations are the same as before while Raikage-sama may not use any life threatening moves. The same goes for all of you." He declared to the participants. Only Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji still remained from the Konoha eleven. The others were still either recuperating from their injuries or still unconscious. Kakashi considered asking Shizune if Sakura was with Tsunade and the medic nin since he thought that she was going to be participating but decided against it. He'd ask her later himself if he didn't see her before the end of the bout.

"Is everyone ready?" Kakashi asked the five ninja below him. After a nod from all of them he put his hand once again in the air. " _Hajime_!"

The Raikage was of course the first to attack. Who didn't see that coming? He used his blinding speed to get close to Naruto as he used his singular arm to swing a deadly blow right at his head. The Raikage's fist made contact but instead of a scream of pain a low 'poof' was heard when the ninja that the Raikage punched was replaced with a large wooden log with a series of explosive tags on them.

"Get back!" Shikamaru yelled as Choji used his increased size to cover his two friends from the explosion. The Raikage however, decided to just tank the explosion, deciding not to move as he let out a low growl and looked around for the blond ninja in question.

"Where are you, boy!?" He screamed into the smoke.

"Everywhere." Naruto's voice was heard behind the Raikage before he slammed a mighty fist into the Kage's arm-free side. A second later another fist was sent into A's face.

"He's using clones!" Shikamaru shouted to alert his friends. "Check your backs!"

A rage-filled scream was heard before a light crackling sound that began to grow steadily. Static could be felt in the air as the Raikage charged himself.

"No he's not, you fool!" A screamed from inside the smoke. "He's using his speed!"

Not a second later the entirety of the smoke disappeared, leaving the Raikage alone standing in the center of the arena, his sole arm raised and surrounded by a veil of lightning. A scanned around himself cautiously, side to side, left to right before looking up. Where was the Uzumaki?

"Raikage-sama," Shikamaru yelled. "He's-" But before he could finish his warning the earth below the Raikage's feet exploded, revealing a flying Naruto with his right fist extended to A's face. He was less than an inch away by the time A noticed him. Too late for even he to react.

Whhaamm!

The entire crowd went deathly silent. None of them saw the hit but all of them heard it. Naruto just uppercutted the Raikage in the jaw. _The Raikage_. Maybe this wasn't a good idea after all.

Naruto jumped back from his opponent, hands raised defensively. Maybe that wasn't his best idea, yeah it was fun to copy a move he used in this very stadium all those years ago, but on the Raikage? Yeah, _not_ his best move. He'd have to work with the Raikage once he becomes the Hokage. And if any Kage could hold a grudge, it was the Raikage.

The Raikage stood motionless for a few seconds, his head still faced towards the sky from Naruto's attack. After a few more seconds he slowly lowered his head, clenching his teeth in anger. His eyes were red with anger as his teeth were red with blood.

"You're _that_ ready to die, boy?" The Raikage asked, his voice low and threatening before his spit up some blood in Naruto's direction. "Then let's go."

No sooner after those words left his lips, he dashed at Naruto at full speed, using his lightning jutsu to increase his already impressive physical abilities. The crowd didn't even see Naruto move, just the absence of him where he stood a moment sooner. Only colored blurs could distinguish the two as they raced around the arena, punching, kicking and slamming each other into the sides of the stadium.

"What made you think that this was a good idea, Kakashi?" Onoki asked the taller Kage as they all watched the bout between Naruto and the Raikage.

"I just want to show everyone Naruto's true power." He replied to the shortest Kage.

Onoki looked to him for a few seconds and then turned his gaze back to the fight. "That's a lie." He said after a few seconds of silence. His words caught the attention of the other Kage and their assistants. "The entire world already knows how powerful that boy is. Even A, if his life depended on it, would admit that Naruto is stronger than him."

The crowd flinched in pain as A was momentarily stopped in his tracks by a newly formed rock wall. A only stood still for a split second before racing after the blond again.

"You _don't_ have to convince us, Kakashi, or yourself for that matter of how powerful that boy is." He looked back towards Kakashi as he thoughtlessly stroked his grey beard. "You want to show _Naruto_ his full potential."

Silence filled the Kage's balcony as they all looked towards Kakashi. He himself knew that the Tsuchikage was right, he generally was about his sort of thing. He didn't know what to say so he didn't say anything. Onoki gave him a soft smile.

"When you get to my age you learn a few things. One, is that one's true potential is a direct reflection of their commitment and drive. The second is that if that drive is limitless then so is their potential. The third is that the best men stay on this earth the shortest. Only old fools reach my age."

Mei looked from between Kakashi and Onoki, she could sense the Hokage's question and asked for him. "What does that mean, Onoki?" She asked softly.

Onoki looked back to the fight just as a series of shuriken were deflected by A's lightning shield. "It means that Naruto has yet to reach to his full potential. He is still a young man, just out of his teens. _Decades_ could go by before his limit even begins to show. That boy is _always_ striving, _always_ pushing himself to the point beyond his limits. He is destined to grow until his dying day."

No one spoke for half minute before Kakashi forced himself to break the silence. "Why do I sense a 'but' coming?"

Onoki let out a sigh as he watched Naruto slam jet after jet of water into A's chasing face. "Because as I said, the best men of this world leave it too early. Be it from a wound, sickness or just falling down the stairs," He said with a light chuckle. "One day Naruto will leave this world."

Mei's eyes flicked between Onoki and Kakashi as Gaara stood and watched them silently. Onoki cleared his throat and continued. "And while I wish to be long gone from this world when that happens... I have a bad feeling. History always repeats itself, we all know that. None of us will be here forever..."

Again, the entire balcony was silent as they watched the fight. It was a stalemate at the moment but the Kage sensed that it wouldn't be for long. Kakashi tore his eyes from his student and looked to the eldest Kage. "What are you trying to say, Onoki?" He asked.

The Tsuchikage looked troubled for a few seconds before shaking his head. "I'm trying to say that maybe this life isn't the best for Naruto. Maybe he _shouldn't_ become Hokage-."

"What?!" Kakashi raised his voice for the first time since addressing the crowd.

"Now, now." Onoki said as he held up his hands. "I _don't_ mean to say that Naruto isn't the best person to become Hokage. I actually believe that he is the single best person to take the position." He paused to gesture at Mei and Gaara and down to the arena at A. "Kakashi, you know that we _all_ support Naruto in becoming Hokage. That _isn't_ what this is about."

"Then what is this about?" He asked, his earlier anger gone. He knew that they other Kage were behind Naruto all the way. He was genuinely curious as to what the eldest Kage had to say.

"That boy is not only a good ninja but a great man. Someone whom I would, and have, trusted with my life." He seemed to hesitate for a few seconds before continuing. "I don't have to remind you about the truths about this world, I know that. But still, you can't ignore that the responsibility alone of being a Kage can crush any good man. We sacrifice so much to wear these stupid hats." He said with a smile as he placed a hand on his traditional hat.

"I just don't want to see a man such as Naruto sacrifice so much in order to bear this title. He is young, maybe _too_ young." He sent a nod to Gaara. "I know that you two are the same age but it is a different kind of young. That boy, through all of his life, his trials and tribulations, is still young at heart."

"Onoki..." Mei said from the side.

"Yes, yes. I know. Stop beating around the bush and say it." He turned and placed his full attention onto Naruto. "I just don't want to see this world destroy what makes him… _him_. In no other man have I seen that fire in his eyes. He craves no power, no money, no fame, just to protect the ones he loves. A man like that only comes once a generation. Like the Fourth before him." He almost whispered the last part. He paused to watch the Raikage get thrown out of a cloud of dust by a giant pair of chakra arms and into the wall. "Naruto wants two lives, like all of us. One is what he's doing now, becoming a truly powerful ninja. But the other? The other is what none of us Kage currently have; a life outside of this robe."

He sent Mei a quick glance before turning back to the fight. "That young man deserves to be able to settle down and enjoy his life in peace. After all he's done, after all he's accomplished he deserves to live a full life. He deserves to settle down, meet a nice girl and marry her before becoming a father."

He turned to the other Kage, his eyes glancing away from them. "None of you are parents, or married. So as a man who _was_ both let me tell you, you _can't_ have both lives."

The small group watched the fight in silence for a few minutes before Kakashi broke the silence. "...So you're concerned that if Naruto becomes Hokage that he will never be able to have a family?" He asked.

Onoki only nodded his head before asking. "Has he and that Sakura girl gotten together yet?"

Kakashi's eyes widened a little. It wasn't very common for the Kage to talk about Naruto's love life, or lack thereof. And while the topic did come up every once in awhile it was almost entirely in teasing by A or mumbled whispers by Mei. Kakashi cleared his throat. "No, they haven't."

Onoki stroked his beard. "Maybe that's for the best, Sakura seems like a nice girl from what I've seen of them together. I wouldn't want for such a nice girl to live without him."

A voice spoke up that none of the Kage expected, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki and brother of the Raikage, Bee. Killer Bee stepped towards the Kage from his place leaning against the wall as he watched the fight.

"All of you are fools." He said as he gestured down to Naruto. "Naruto is the best man I have ever met. He cannot be compared to the rest of us. And if anyone of us can live those two lives it's him, bet."

"Bee is right." Gaara stepped into the conversation again. "Naruto is unlike no other man in this world. He has taken all of us out of our own individual darkness and made us the people we are today."

"I have to agree with them, Onoki." Mei said as she simultaneously watched the fight. "While I do agree that it is almost impossible to have a life outside of this position it isn't impossible." She dropped her head and let out a soft whisper. "Even if _I've_ lost hope in finding a man."

Kakashi turned to Onoki to take his turn. "I understand what you mean, Onoki. I want nothing more for Naruto to be able to be able to settle down one day but…, it's his decision after all."

Onoki nodded his head at the Hokage's words. "I agree. We can only advise him in his life, not tell him what to do." He then turned to fully face Kakashi and bowed his head slightly. "I am sorry from what I said about your student. You know that I meant no disrespect."

Kakashi pushed the comment away with his hand. "I know. Thank you-" Kakashi was interrupted when the crowd let out a combined 'ooh' of pain. He and the other Kage looked to the fight.

Naruto and the Raikage stood motionless in the center of the arena. Both frozen after their individual attacks. A's sole arm was caught by Naruto's above his head, while Naruto's other fist was dug right into the Raikage's side. Naruto gut-punched him.

"Uggghhh!" A let out a groan of pain through his gritted teeth as he slumped down to his knees. Naruto removed his fist from his stomach and sent it into the Kage's face with a solid 'thud'.

"Yield." Naruto said as he pulled back his fist to strike A again. The muscular man only scowled at him through bloody teeth as he tried in vain to break free from the newly formed chakra hands holding him still.

"The Raikage _never_ surrenders!" A yelled at the top of his lungs as he charged his body with lightning.

Whaaammm!

Naruto punched the Raikage in the gut this time, sending the large man hunching over in pain. Stopping his lighting and dissipating it. Several droplets of crimson liquid dripped from his mouth and fell to the dirt. "Yield!" Naruto ordered this time. "I have you completely immobilized, A-sama. _Don't_ make me hurt you."

"A Kage never-"

Whaaammm!

Another fist struck his stomach with more force, knocking the wind from the Raikage's lungs.

"I said yield!" Naruto yelled as he raised his fist again. He calmed his breathing and spoke softer. "You have _nothing_ to prove, A-sama, not to me, not to anyone. It isn't dishonorable to forfeit when you can't win. But it _will_ be if you make me knock you out in front of the entire village. What will your people say then? _Don't_ make me do it..." Naruto was almost pleading towards the end, he didn't want to embarrass the Raikage like that. Could you imagine the humiliation if the Raikage had to be taken out of a match on a stretcher?

A's swollen eye narrowed dangerously for a few seconds before finally calming. He stopped trying to resist and let his sole arm go slack in Naruto's hold. He dropped his head, his chin hitting his chest.

"I yield." He whispered softly.

 **(A little while later)**

"I don't need your help, I'm the Raikage!" The Raikage's voice could be heard down the hall from the Hokage's box as a medic nin tried to help the angry man hobble down the hall.

"Would you just-, I'm _trying_ to _help_ you, Raikage-sama." She said, she was obviously on her last nerves with her patient. They had taken A to the medical tent to get him checked up after his fight with Naruto. The other Kage watched with stifled laughter as the mighty Raikage was being walked into the box by a young medical nin half his size.

Mei was the first one to greet him. She gave him a sweet smile. "How did the fight go, A? Were you able to teach Naruto-kun a lesson?"

"Arrggg! Watch your tongue, Mei!" He barked, learning over to the only female Kage.

Whack!

"Ow!" A yelled as he nursed his sore skin of his side with his sole hand. He turned to the medic nin. "What in _Kami's_ name was that for?"

"I told you to stop moving around, Raikage-sama." She said sternly. She turned and looked up to him with a death glare. "Lady Tsunade _told_ you to behave."

A gave her a scoff in reply. "I am the Raikage! I don't take orders from-"

"We're here!" Before he could finish, the small medic nin slipped out from his side where she was helping support him, causing the yelling Kage to fall on his arm-free side. She looked at him as he lay unceremoniously on the ground.

"Would that be all, Raikage-sama?" She asked in a fake-sweet voice.

A only grumbled into the ground for a few seconds under his breath before he forced himself up using his only arm. He looked to the other Kage and assistants in the box as he tried to hide his embarrassment. He cleared his throat before turning to the small woman. "...Yes, miss. Thank you."

The woman gave him a smile before turning to Kakashi and giving him and the other Kage a bow. "Please, excuse me, Hokage-sama but I must be off."

"Thank you again, Jirou." Kakashi nodded as she turned to leave.

"I like her." Mei said softly as they all watched the unassuming medic nin walk down the corridor.

Only silence filled the box for half a minute as everyone in earshot tried to not look the Raikage in the eye as he grumbled angrily at his many bandages that covered his body. A few more seconds passed before he spoke. "... So, uh… how is the boy doing?"

Kakashi blinked a few times and shook his head to right himself. He turned to A and used his left hand to point to the arena. "We took a short break after you…, uh, _left_ the arena to make sure that you were okay before continuing the fight." He explained as the Kage listened to the sounds of grunts of pain that could be heard from the arena.

"They just started again a minute ago." Onoki said from his spot on a bench near the still-standing section of the railing. "But from the looks of it Naruto is about to knock out the size-enhancing boy."

Kakashi nodded his head in agreement, watching the fight. "Choji stood one of the best chances due to the strength of his clan's jutsu but he is still no match for Naruto."

"Tiiimm-bbeerr!" Naruto yelled as he watched the giant fall backwards and land with a deafening 'whoosh'. The village hero turned his gaze from the rapidly decreasing in size Choji and to the remaining two members of the Konoha Eleven. Shikamaru and Ino.

"What's the problem, Shikamaru?" Naruto called to the Nara. "Is fighting me _too troublesome for you_?"

"Why you-" Shikamaru said under his breath. " _Remember_ who's going to be in charge of how much paperwork you have when you're Hokage, Naruto." Naruto grimaced but quickly dropped it.

"So, what's the plan, eh? Just sit there until I go over there and knock you out?"

Shikamaru glanced up slightly before giving his friend a smirk. "Nope, I was just waiting for everything to get into place."

Naruto's eyes widened slightly before he followed his gaze upwards, raising his arms to block against whatever his genius of a friend was planning.

Nothing was there! He scanned the sky but saw nothing. Shikamaru tricked him!

Naruto lowered his gaze to his friends but after a second he found that he couldn't move. Shifting his eyes he could make out Shikamaru's signature jutsu wrapped around his body. Holding all of his limbs in place as well as covering up his entire stomach in attempt to hold back Kurama. How did he fall for that?

"Oh you sneaky-" Naruto started before channeling his chakra. "I should've seen that coming. I mean that was a classic Ino-Shika-Cho formation if I've ever seen one."

He turned his gaze to Ino behind Shikamaru and raised a brow. "So I'm guessing that you're going to try to take over my mind now, right?" He asked.

She sent him a cheeky smile as she raised her hands into her hand sign. "That's the plan, Whiskers." She said, calling him by her nickname for him.

"I don't think that's such a good idea, Ino."

She stopped her motion. "Why not?"

He gave her a look and gestured to himself with only his head. "Have you _met_ the guy that rents out my mind?" He said with a hint of disbelief. "He's not exactly the kind of guy that likes intruders."

Ino seemed to hesitate a few seconds as she lowered her hands from their position slightly.

"Are you sure about this, Ino?" Shikamaru whispered to her. "We still have our _ace in the hole_. You don't have to do this. You know as well as I do why your dad forbade you from entering Naruto's mind as a kid.

Growing up in the Yamanaka clan, every child was taught the consequences and risks of their mind jutsus from a very young age. And in no other place was that more apparent and highly enforced than with Naruto Uzumaki, holder of the Nine-Tailed Fox. Ino had been told by her dad from day one to never, _ever_ , under _any_ circumstances whatsoever, to enter Naruto's mind. Before Ino learned of the reason this always confused her. I mean, what could be so dangerous about entering the mind of her knuckle-headed, orange-clad friend? But now as a young woman Ino knew of Kurama and his residence inside her favorite blond. She, along with her dad before he passed, had communicated with Kurama during the war but briefly. But even for those few short moments Ino had sensed the sheer power of the beast inside of Naruto. She would be lying if she said that she wasn't nervous as hell to enter his mind. But she trusted Kurama, to an extent at least, she trusted Naruto more to hold the Fox back from doing any actual harm to her. She, like the rest of the Konoha Eleven had grown to accept Kurama over the years.

Ino let out a breath before raising her hands to where they were. "I'm sure." She said with a nod towards Shikamaru. "I trust Whiskers."

"You know I can hear-" Naruto started but was cut off by a yell from the Yamanaka heir.

"Mind Control Jutsu!" She yelled. Not a second later Naruto's body went limp in Shikamaru's hold.

 **(Inside Naruto's Mind)**

Darkness. That's all Ino could see as she entered Naruto's mind. But that was to be expected. She was in the outer area of his mind, she would have to travel deeper to get anywhere important. But she had no need to snoop around in Naruto's mind, but sure she did _want_ to. She'd be able to check up on his progress talking to Sak-

Ino froze mid thought, she could sense _something_. Something… massive..., powerful and…, close.

Kurama.

She dared her eyes to look around in the eerie darkness for Kurama and his container. She looked all around her but found nothing. That made sense though, this was Naruto's mind, and according to him, Kurama had free reign of it now so finding the chakra beast would be harder than first said.

" _ **It's been awhile since I've had company."**_ A deep, intimidating voice came from all directions around her. Ino almost fell over into the ankle-deep water. She could feel chills running down her body.

The voice sounded again but this time it was softer, kinder, almost… friendly. " _ **Don't worry, Yamanaka."**_ Kurama said. From below her in the water a warm, glowing light filled the room to reveal the Nine-Tailed Fox lazily lying down with his head propped up on his massive paws not twenty feet in front of her. How did she not sense him earlier? He sent her a toothy smile. " _ **I'm not going to hurt you."**_

Ino calmed her breathing and looked up to Kurama and returned the smile, minus the teeth, though. " _I know, Kurama, you just scared me."_ She looked around in the now brightly lit room for a few seconds and frowned. " _I don't suppose you'd let me take a peek into Whiskers' innermost thoughts and secrets, would you?"_

Kurama let out a humored chuckle. " _ **I'm afraid not, Yamanaka. The Kit wouldn't be happy if I let you and I don't want to have to deal with him whining that I let you prance around in his mind."**_

She gave a little fake pout before shrugging and looking around the room again. " _So, where_ _ **is**_ _Whiskers?"_ She added. " _Hiding from me?"_ She asked with a laugh.

Kurama let out an amused chuckle before giving her a toothy grin. " _ **Oh, the Kit's just taking a look around your mind, is all. He should be back soon."**_

" _What!?"_ Ino nearly yelled. " _He's- Whiskers in my mind? How?"_ The great chakra beast only chuckled to himself for a few more seconds before turning his head the other direction and seemingly going back to sleep.

" _Kurama!"_ She yelled. " _What do you mean he's in my mind? Hey! Answer me! What's he doing?"_

' _Oh Kami.'_ She thought. She did not need Whiskers of all people in her head. That would be so embarrassing!

 **(Back outside of Naruto's mind)**

"Ino, Ino what in _Kami's_ name are you doing? Stop!" Shikamaru said as he blocked a blow aimed for his head from his previously limp teammate. Ino had entered Naruto's mind without problem. But not a second later she got back up and started to fight him as Naruto's body remained on the ground. Something went wrong, obviously. Shikamaru assumed that Kurama had somehow took control of Ino's mind when she made the connection between them. But _how_ he did this Shikamaru had no idea. He made a mental note to ask Naruto and Ino about it later.

' _Shit!'_ He barely dodged another swing from 'Ino'. ' _Priorities,'_ he thought. ' _First find a way to stop Naruto and Kurama and then ask how they did it.'_

Unluckily for him, Ino had always been the most agile and quickest member of their team. Which made fighting Kurama, or maybe Naruto, if that was possible, in her body, quite difficult since she outmatched him in both speed and maneuverability.

"About time you figured it out, so called genius." The voice was definitely Ino's but it wasn't her mind making her talk.

Shikamaru threw several kunai at 'her' but they were easily blocked by 'her' kunai. "How are you doing that, Naruto?" Shikamaru asked between blows.

Ino's body gave a shrug. "No idea. It was Kurama's idea." 'She' paused to disarm Shikamaru of his kunai. Knocking them from his hands with ease. "He asked if I wanted to swap minds with her for a bit and I said 'why not?'. I had no idea he was being serious."

Shikamaru shook his head slightly. "Figures you'd be playing it by ear." He stopped briefly to jump out of the way of a swift kick aimed at his stomach. "I can never predict you as much as I want."

'Ino' gave him a smile. "I wouldn't be the number one most unpredictable ninja if you could."

Shikamaru couldn't help but smile at his friend. "True."

Thwaack!

"Aaahhh!" Shikamaru yelled in pain as 'Ino' managed to grab his wrist and twist it, dislocating it. Shikamaru grit his teeth in pain, he wanted to use their _ace in the hole_ but Naruto was too close. He needed to get Naruto out of Ino's mind.

' _That's it!'_ Shikamaru yelled inside his mind. ' _How could I be so stupid? Any Gennin should be able to figure out what to do. It is the same solution as with dispelling a genjutsu; just send some chakra through the person and be it a genjutsu or a mind jutsu it'll be cancelled out! Given enough chakra of course. How could I be so stupid?'_

Before giving Naruto time to react, Shikamaru used his free hand to strike Ino's bare stomach just below her sizable chest and grabbed the smooth skin of her belly. "Hey," Naruto yelled as 'her' eyes widened. "Watch your hands, you may be fighting _me_ but I'm _still_ in Ino's body!"

"She'll forgive me." Was all Shikamaru said before he sent a huge wave a chakra into and through Ino, freeing her of Naruto and Kurama's power.

Ino's body went limp once again and Shikamaru made sure to catch her before she fell to the dirt. She began to stir after a few seconds. "Ugh, my head." She looked around squinting, surveying her surroundings. She looked from her teammate and to her hurting stomach. "You better not've given me a bruise, Shikamaru. It's almost bikini season. I'll kill you." She mumbled a little bit. He let out a sigh. It was her alright.

He gave an apologetic smile before helping her lay on the ground. She blinked a few times before her eyelids became heavy and she passed out. Exhausted from the altercation.

"Ah crap, that hurt." Naruto's sudden voice snapped the genius back into the fight. Of _course_ Naruto was still up, this was Naruto after all. He turned around to face his blond friend after signaling for a medic nin to come over and grab Ino.

"Couldn't you have waited a _few_ more seconds, Shikamaru?" Naruto complained as he rubbed his head and popped his neck. He held up his hand with his thumb and forefinger slightly apart. "I was _this_ close to figuring out what the girls talk about when they have their 'girls night out'."

Shikamaru gave him a disapproving look and stopped mid motion. " _Really_?"

" _What_?" Naruto gave him a shrug. "I'm curious."

The two waited for Ino to be fully removed from the arena two get into their fighting stances. The fifteen minute timer had long go gone off but Kakashi hadn't stopped the fight so the two continued. "So," Naruto asked nonchalantly. "What's the plan here, eh Shikamaru?" He asked. He received no reply, however.

"You plan on fighting me all by yourself?" He asked the Nara with a relaxed expression. "You don't _seriously_ think that you can beat me, do you?"

Shikamaru returned the look. "I don't have to beat you." He said before dropping his stance and motioning Naruto to come at him with two fingers. "But just try and hit me, right here." He said as he used his other hand to tap his cheek.

Naruto's smile quirked as he tightened his stance. "Don't be so prepared to get whooped, Mr. Genius. I'd rather not kick your butt in front of your lady friend." He mocked in good humor, motioning with his head to the Kage box.

In the blink of an eye the blond haired ninja was gone and racing the short distance to Shikamaru. His right arm back to strike Shikamaru in the face. Shikamaru himself stood motionless as Naruto ran at him. He was completely calm, his breathing was even, his left arm was down at his side as his right was in his pocket.

' _His pocket!'_ Naruto could see him bringing his hand out of his pocket. He was pulling something out! He had better stop him before he has time to use it, whatever it is.

Naruto was five feet away before he saw what it was. It was a summoning tag. But what could he be summoning? No time to think.

Four feet away, he could hit Shikamaru before he managed to use it. He pushed himself to get their sooner.

Three feet and the tag was raised. Shikamaru had his other thumb to his mouth.

Two feet. Shikamaru bit his thumb and was moving it to make contact with the tag.

One foot. Shikamaru made contact with the tag and a cloud of smoke formed.

He could still make it, whatever it was, he'd be able to take it out with this hit and then take down Shikamaru and claim victory. Naruto's fist was a few inches away when he saw it, the signature shade that he had grown so accustomed to after all of these years. The color that he could recognize _anywhere_. Belonging to the one person he loved most in this world.

Sakura Haruno.

Whooosh!

Naruto's fist stopped a inch from her face. The sheer amount of wind his fist caused made the entire crowd drop their jaws in awe. Dust and small rocks blew back from the canon of wind. Naruto blinked a few times, making sure that he wasn't seeing things. Sakura was in front of him. _What_?

"...Sakura-chan?" His voice came out as a whisper, he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Hiya, Naruto." She said sweetly as she smiled, her eyes closed, tilting her head slightly and giving him a slight wave.

" _ **What are you doing, Kit?!"**_ Kurama asked. " _ **You're leaving yourself open! She's going to strike!"**_

That snapped Naruto out of his daze. In the blink of an eye he pulled his right fist back and swung his left at her.

Whooosh!

Again, the sheer amount of power behind his punch put the crowd in awe. But also as before his fist stopped before hitting her. He only managed to get a fraction of an inch closer this time. He swung again with his right this time.

Whooosh!

But again he wasn't able to force himself to hit her when she stood there with her eyes closed like that. Said pinkette remained still as Naruto delivered powerful after powerful blow at her to only stop a fraction of an inch closer to her. She kept up her smile the entire time. Not even flinching when Naruto's fist stopped close enough for her to feel his body heat.

"Arg." Naruto let out a low growl at his inability to hit her when she stood defenseless like that not in a stance and with her eyes closed. Whatever he tried, punches, jabs, kicks, it didn't matter, he couldn't make himself do it. "What is she playing at?" He grumbled to himself before tensing up for another attack.

"Hiiyaaa!" Naruto screamed as he sent a powerful kick flying at her face.

Whooosh!

His foot was practically touching her cheek he was so close, but he couldn't do it.

"Are you done messing around, Naruto?" She asked in her sweet, kind voice that Naruto _really_ didn't want to have to deal with right now. Sakura finally began to open her eyes slowly, revealing her emerald green eyes that caught Naruto's attention for just a split second too long.

" _ **Watch out, Kit! She's-"**_ But before Kurama could finish his warning the motionless pinkette let out a loud 'CHA!' and delivered a powerful haymaker into his exposed stomach.

The entire crowd let out a collective gasp. The sound alone of the impact hurt. For a few seconds the two stood still, Naruto with his foot still raised and Sakura with her fist still in his gut before the village hero slumped over and clutched his stomach in pain.

"Holy-, damn... _Kami_ , that... hurt." Naruto wheezed out, the breath gone from his lungs as he flailed on the ground, trying in vain to get up.

Sakura raised her hand to cover her mouth. She hadn't meant to hit him _that_ hard. She reached out to him tentatively, wanting to heal him when from behind her she heard Shikamaru's voice.

" _What_ are you waiting for?" He hissed. "He's down, finish him!"

She looked down to the pained expression of her best friend and begrudgingly raised her fist to strike him again. "Sorry, Naruto-" She was cut off when Naruto performed a maneuver to get out of her grasp and jumped back a good distance away from her. She lowered her fist and assumed a 'ready' stance.

"You ready to finally start taking this seriously, Naruto?" She called.

He copied her actons and got into his own stance. "So _you're_ the 'ace in the hole' that Shikamaru whispered about." He seemed surprised. "I thought that maybe you were helping granny and her medics. I didn't think that I'd have to fight _you_."

She wore a fake hurt expression. "And here I thought you _enjoyed_ our spars, Naruto?"

"Of course I do." ' _It was so hot that you only wore shorts and a sports bra for a week. Best week of my life'_ He thought to himself.

"Same." ' _Although I could have done without you going shirtless for the entire time.'_ Sakura thought before mentally shaking her thoughts. ' _But enough of that, I'm here to fight. Not swoon over Naruto.'_

"Do you _really_ think you can beat me by yourself, Pinky?" He goaded her as they began to slowly circle each other, waiting for the other to act first.

" _Pinky_?" She asked, amused. "That the best you can do, Whiskers?"

He groaned not so silently. "Not you too, Sakura-chan." He complained. "I haven't been able to get Ino to stop calling me that. Your encouragement isn't helping."

The pinkette shrugged lightly. "Eh, she thinks it's cute." She offered as she took a step closer to only have him copy the movement.

"Of course she does." He mumbled. She giggled at his words.

"I think it's cute too." She mentioned casually.

"Wait-what-" Naruto's moment of distraction was all Sakura needed to close the gap and send a flurry of punches at Naruto's head. Which he barely managed to dodge in time.

"Hey!" He pouted when he was at a safe distance. "I wasn't paying attention."

She laughed at his antics. "That's your fault for not paying attention, _baka_." She said kindly as she closed the distance again and aimed a fist at his stomach. Ino did tell her to use her 'inner Ino' as she called it when they went over their battle plan to go up against Naruto. And as much as Sakura _hated_ it, her best bet would to keep him off balance enough so that she could just get one heavy hit in and knock him out. So if Ino could use her body to distract her male opponents then so could she. _Maybe_. _Possibly_. Probably not. _Kami_... that made her sound like some sort of sleaze saying it like that.

"Crap!" Naruto yelled as he redirected her approaching fist away from his gut. He used his elbow to slam into her side as he spun her around. She skid a few feet away but returned to her fighting stance quickly. She gave him a grin.

"You used that one last time. You running out of ideas how to take me on?"

He cracked his knuckles loudly and rushed at her. "Oh, I have plenty of ideas how to take you." He yelled, sending a flurry of punches at her.

Sakura didn't comment on that very dirty sounding innuendo that she was _sure_ he didn't know that he made. Instead sending chakra to her arms to help soften the impact from his blows. "Come on then."

They fought as only life-long teammates and sparring partners could. The entire crowd watched in wonderment as every punch was redirected, every jab was countered, every kick was predicted and every move mirrored the other. In terms of total power alone, Sakura didn't stand a chance against him. That was clear, but out of the entire village _she_ was the one who trained with him the most. If anyone could read his moves and figure out the so called 'unpredictable' ninja then it was the girl that had trained besides him for most of their lives. Even the Kage, A included, were impressed how the pinkette was able to dance around each of his swings with ease like it was a choreographed performance that she had conducted for years. Never giving him an inch nor the time to think. Many ninja would be nervous in her position and hesitate, causing them to become sloppy and lose the fight. But not Sakura. She had trained against Naruto every day that they both had free from work. No one besides her had put in the amount of hours learning to counter and fight Naruto as she.

Naruto realized this after he went through several sets of combos and she easily evaded all of them.

And Naruto was beginning to understand why Shikamaru had called her the 'Ace in the hole'. Not only because he would never go all out against her, but because she was the one person out of the entire village that knew him the best.

So he tried his best to throw her for a loop by hip checking her when she got too close when dodging a powerful right swing. That sudden and random move caused the shorter pinkette to stumble to the ground, rolling out of the way as fast as she could when a foot came hurtling down where her head had been not a second earlier.

"What was that?" She questioned as she rose to her feet, her arms up, ready to block.

"Improvising." He answered with a grin. "You like it?"

She just rolled her eyes and used one hand to feel her hip, she winced a little when she made contact. "I swear if you messed up my hip you baka…"

"Oh that was nothing, Sakura-chan." He called. "You've taken more than that before."

"I know," She grumbled, using her hand to send some healing chakra to her hip. "Now you done trying to stall and ready to fight?" She raised her healing arm to meet her other.

Naruto gave her a confused look. " _You're_ the one who decided to heal in the middle of our fight."

"Well _you're_ the one who let me." She chided. "Face it, Naruto, you don't want to fight me. You're _scared_."

He looked surprised. "Scared?" He repeated. "I'm not scared of anything. Especially not you, Sakura-chan."

"Pfft," She rolled her eyes. "We both _know_ that's not true."

"Hey…"

She gave him a 'come here' motion with her hand, taunting him. "If you don't like it come over here and make me stop."

Naruto let out a grin, charging his chakra throughout his body. "Don't get upset when I kick your butt, Sakura-chan."

"Like you could-" She had to stop mid sentence to avoid the _kunai_ that suddenly appeared in front of her face. "Woah!" The pinkette just managed to jump to the side and avoid being impaled by the weapon. She quickly spun to face where Naruto was and raised her fists, expecting an attack.

But he wasn't there.

Sakura looked around the arena in all directions, expecting Naruto to jump out of her blind spot and attack her. But when he didn't show himself after a few seconds she began to grow concerned. Where was he?

It was then when she sensed movement behind her. She quickly shun around and raised her own _kunai_. But what she saw made her momentarily lower them. There were two Shikamaru's standing side by side. Both of whom wore the same shocked look. It took her a few seconds to realise that Naruto used the distraction to get next to Shikamaru who was still at the end of the arena and used a _Transformation Jutsu_ to turn into him.

The Shikamaru on the left shook off the surprise and pointed at the Shikamaru on his right. "Sakura," He called. "That's Naruto. He just transformed into me!"

The Shikamaru on the right shook his head and denied the accusation. "No, I'm the real Shikamaru. _He's_ Naruto."

"No I'm not." The left one retorted, turning to Sakura. "I'm the real Shikamaru."

Sakura just stood there silently with a 'are you serious' expression on her face. Of _course_ Naruto would interrupt a fight to just mess with her head. She thought about it as the two Shikamaru's bickered to the side, much to the confusion and entertainment of the crowd. She had two choices: take them both out in one big attack or figure out which one was Naruto. But the question was _how_ to figure out which one was Naruto. Asking him a question to try to trick him into answering probably wouldn't work. He's not as big of an idiot as he used to be. He'd figure out what she was doing.

Then suddenly the thought hit her. And she _didn't_ like it one bit. But oh, would Ino be proud. Curse her perverse friend, she was rubbing off on her.

"Hey." She called to the two arguing Shikamaru's who were starting to wrestle each other. The both stopped at the same time and looked towards the pinkette as she walked up to them, stopping an arms length away from them.

She took a deep breath. She _really_ didn't want to do this, but at the same time she _knew_ that this would work. Curse her conflicted brain for suggesting this idea. She looked at the two and gave what she _hoped_ was a cute smile. "Which one of you would like a kiss?"

Why did she _do_ that? She didn't want to kiss either one of them! Well, that's not _completely_ true. She wouldn't mind kissing Naruto, but she _shouldn't_! _That_ was the problem here. She stood there silently wondering if her 'genius' idea would work as the two Shikamaru's just stood there for a few seconds in shock before reacting.

Well the two's reactions were what you would've expected. The both spoke at the same time.

The Shikamaru on the right gave her an uncomfortable look. He held up his hand, showing a silver band on his finger. "I'll have to decline, thanks. I'm engaged."

The Shikamaru on the left stood there as his eyes widened and his jaw dropped. "Me! Wait- _no_ , that's not- I mean-" He answered before seemingly realizing his mistake. He smacked himself lightly on the face before grumbling. "Oh, I'm _such_ an idiot."

Sakura chuckled lightly. "Yes you are, Naruto." Her attitude changed quickly as she turned to the real Shikamaru. "Do it now, Shikamaru!"

Before Naruto could react he heard Shikamaru yell "Shadow Possession Jutsu!" and he became encompassed in a black veil of shadows, completely immobilizing him.

Naruto dropped the Transformation jutsu and looked towards Sakura. "Nice one, Sakura-chan." He admitted. "I didn't expect that kind of trick from you. That's more of an Ino move."

Sakura tried to hide the color that covered her cheeks, _without her permission_ , she might add. She needed to have a better control of herself! She couldn't let her emotions control her like this. She _couldn't_ let herself be controlled by her feelings for Naruto. Feelings, that would _only_ cause problems between the two of them.

The pinkette mentally shook her thoughts away and stepped towards Naruto. "Y-yeah, I didn't expect to do it either. It was just a random idea, y'know?" She said. She then wore a serious look on her face. "But don't you think that I was being serious, you understand? I was just trying to trick you."

Thankfully he didn't sense her internal struggle. "I know I know." He mumbled before continuing quickly. "And I didn't mean to make it sound like that either. I was just surprised that you said that, is all. I didn't actually want a… kiss… from you."

' _You and I both you that's a lie, Naruto.'_ She thought to herself. ' _But this is good. He needs to think that we shouldn't kiss. Because we can't… even if we both really want to.'_ Sakura straightened herself, trying to get herself out of her head and back into the fight. They had Naruto trapped under a _Shadow Possession Jutsu_ so it'd be really easy for her to just send a huge amount of chakra into his nervous system, overload it and knock him out. It was a bit unconventional, but it was a sound medical technique if sedatives were not available, like on a battlefield when the patient needed to be put under or in a combat scenario like this.

She gave a look to Shikamaru, silently asking him if his jutsu would hold. He understood her silent question and nodded. She repeated the gesture and took another step to completely close the distance between herself and Naruto. He looked up to her like he was curious what she was doing. "I'm sorry, Naruto." She apologized, putting one hand on his head. "But I can't just let you win if I have an opportunity to take you out like this."

It was then when Naruto realized what she was aiming to do. He tried his best to struggle but it's was hopeless when he was completely paralyzed. "Wait, come on Sakura-chan." He pleaded. "I'm supposed to win this and prove how strong I am. You _can't_ do this."

As much as she didn't like it, she put on an expressionless face. "Sorry, Naruto. But I'll make it up to you-"

Whaaaammm!

But she was never able to finish her apology because a veil of crimson, bubbling chakra sprouted from the blond, forming a fist and knocking the pinkette and Shikamaru a few feet back.

"Sakura!" Shikamaru yelled as he pulled himself to his feet. He turned back to Naruto and his heart stopped. Kurama was forcing himself out of Naruto. _Crap_. Naruto was one thing but Kurama? What was he supposed to do against the Nine-Tailed Fox?

" _ **HrrrRRRRROOOOAAAAWWWRRRR!"**_ The deep roar from the demon shook the arena. Shikamaru could feel the sound travel through his entire body. He found himself stiff with fear.

The entire crowd flinched at the sound of the demon fox. Shikamaru gazed in horror as the chakra around Naruto formed into the completed form of the Nine-Tailed Fox.

" _ **Sorry, Kit."**_ Kurama apologized to his container in his head. " _ **But I'm the Nine-Tailed Fox, I don't lose. Even to your little girlfriend."**_

Whooossshhh!

A giant paw swung at Shikamaru, missing him by the width of a hair but managing to knock him over from the sheer wind pressure alone. A second paw quickly followed the first and landed firmly atop his lying body. Firm enough to keep him there but light enough to not cause him any harm.

"K-k-k-Kurama…" Sakura managed to stutter out. "What…?" The fox rarely ever revealed himself. And only as a last resort to protect Naruto. It had been a long time since Sakura had seen him. She had talked to him of course, when she trained with Naruto. But that was when Naruto acted as a mediator, telling her what the fox was saying.

The giant fox rose in the center of the arena, which it almost filled and turned to look at the pinkette. The entire crowd sat or stood motionless, the Nine-Tails was loose, did Naruto have control of it? From around the arena several ANBU got into position around the Kage but a raised hand from Kakashi stopped them.

"He has it under control." Kakashi said cooly. "Don't worry."

A gave the Hokage a side glance but chose to not do anything except rise from his seat. He was stopped, however, when his brother, Bee, placed on hand on his shoulder. Letting him know that everything was under control.

Kurama lowered his massive head to get to eye level with Sakura, who was now becoming calmer, if not completely calm as she looked to the massive orange fox with a greeting smile. " _ **Don't worry, Haruno,"**_ Kurama said in a kind, reassuring voice. " _ **But the Kit wouldn't take you down so I had to take over."**_ He gestured to his head with a massive paw in a 'what can you do?' gesture.

" _ **You should hear him, he's giving me an earful right now."**_ He let out an amused chuckle before getting serious again. " _ **But I promised him that I'd never let him lose and I plan to uphold that promise. Even against you."**_ He gave her what Sakura could only perceive as an apologetic look. " _ **I'm sorry."**_

"What-" Was all she managed to get out before everything went black.

Sakura didn't remember getting knocked out, but she _definitely_ felt coming to. Her head was killing her. What had Kurama hit her with? His giant paw?- _Wait_ , Naruto. The fight was surely over. How long had she been out? She wanted to be there for his announcement, had she missed it? No, she _couldn't_ have missed-.

"You awake, Sakura-chan?" That voice, that honorific that only _he_ used, the way _he_ said her name that _no one_ else did. The way that _she_ loved to hear it even if it made her heart ache.

It was Naruto. He was here.

Of course he was. What else would she expect?

She opened her eyes and tried to take in her surroundings as her eyes adjusted to the light. White walls. The familiar white walls of the Konoha Hospital. She was in a bed in the hospital. She looked to her side to see the familiar worried look of her favorite blond that he always had on his face when she was in the hospital, which wasn't _nearly_ as much as him. Go figure.

She turned her head fully to him and smiled. "How'd I know that you'd be here, Naruto?" She joked. ' _Because he's always there when I wake up.'_ She thought. ' _He promised me that.'_

A huge wave of relief washed over Naruto. "Oh, thank Kami." He gasped out as he made the two step distance from his chair by the door and to her bed. He placed a careful hand on her shoulder. "I was so worried when I saw Kurama hit you. He didn't hurt you, did he?"

She gave him a reassuring smile. "Nah, don't worry." She said as she held her head. "My head's just killing me but other than that I'm fine."

Another visible wave of relief washed over Naruto. "Thank goodness."

She smiled at his concern for her. She secretly loved it. She absolutely loved how much he cared for her like this even if she couldn't let him know that. How he worried for her and took care of her. It pained her how she couldn't show him how much she appreciated him. She had no doubt that _he_ was the one that carried her here. She couldn't see any of the medical nin being able to stop him. Lady Tsunade excluded of course.

"I rushed you here as soon as I could." He said. "Granny looked you over and said that you should be fine to come to the dedication and my announcement later today."

' _Bingo.'_ She thought. ' _Knew it.'_

She gave him a light punch on his arm, making him look down to her to see her smile. She wanted him to know that she wasn't upset. As well as she was grateful that he was so worried about her. "Like there would be anything on this green earth that could keep me from seeing you be named Hokage." She said confidently before giving him a big smile. "You deserve it, Naruto. I'm so proud of you. I wouldn't miss it for the world."

He returned the smile and she could've sworn that she caught him holding back a few sniffles, not that she would point it out. "Thank you, Sakura-chan. You don't know what that means to me."

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Translations:

Hikigaeru no shōheki - Toad Chakra Barrier

Also, do you guys want translations or for me to just do English? Let me know.

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 **(Author's Note)**

 **Thank you all for reading! I hope that you all liked it. If not, PLEASE, let me know. Be honest and blunt if need be. I pray that there aren't any typos since I spent so long checking for them but I'm only human after all, so let me know and I'll fix them later. Like I said in the beginning, this chapter is serving to see how well the reception will be. To serve for you guys to let me know what you like and don't like so that I can work on it and if need be rewrite this chapter before the second comes out. I have no release date planned though, since that depends on when my current story 'A Mission of Love' ends. It will start wrapping up not before long and won't have a long epilogue.**

 **Cover Art Request:**

 **Repeating what I said before since not everyone will read it, I want some custom Artwork done for this story. I can't pay anyone but we can work something out if you want. PM me if you're interested.**

 **Don't forget to leave a REVIEW, FOLLOW and FAVORITE both me and this story.**

 **Until next time this has been Hephaestus**


	2. Sadness Is A Wall Between Two Gardens

Chapter 2: "Sadness Is But A Wall Between Two Gardens"

Kahlil Gibran

 **(Author's Note) (Edit: 12/29/18 - I will try to work on and get ch3 out asap. Harass me if I take too long. I also edited this chapter, fixed some grammar and added a few words here and there)**

 **Hey everyone! I'm going to try to keep this as short as possible but I just wanted to answer some questions that I received as well as clarify some things about the story.**

 **Sasuke WILL be in this story, he will be showing up in a few-ish chapters. He will be a mainstay for this story. He'll be a little calmer in this story, as well as dating a certain someone whom I know all of you can guess.**

 **For everyone wondering about how Sakura feels about Naruto in this story then this is the chapter to pay attention to. I will have Sakura reveal her feelings for Naruto in this one.**

 **Be sure to leave a Review, Follow/Favorite both me and this story as well as check out my Profile. Please answer the Poll while you're there to vote for my future stories!**

 **Follow me on Twi tter for updates and sneak peaks. HephaestusBuil1**

* * *

 *** Reply to Guest Review ***

 **[I think a great Idea with this story would be to create 2 endings, one where Naruto dies and the shinobi world goes into chaos, and another where he survives and gets the happy ending. It would really make it interesting to see both sides of the story.]**

 **Thanks for the review, I wish I could reply in person. Unfortunately, I won't be able to go that route and have two endings. I can't say much because of spoilers but everything happens a lot sooner than you are all expecting. ;) Not so subtle wink.**

 **Hope you like it and have a great day!**

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Chapter 2: "Sadness Is But A Wall Between Two Gardens"

Kahlil Gibran

Note: ( _Kami_ refers to a divine being in the Shinto religion, as well as being the equivalent to God in Naruto. So any use of _kami_ is a replacement for God.)

"Normal conversation/Narration"

' _Thoughts'_

" _Mind Jutsus"_

" _ **Kurama text"**_

 **(About an hour later)**

"How're you feeling, Forehead?" Ino asked as the two sat down in a booth at a restaurant not so far from the hospital. They had decided to go get some early lunch before the big dedication ceremony.

The pinkette shrugged once as she skimmed through the menu, she only ever ordered one thing, so why even read it? "I'm doing good." She answered, shrugging. "The throbbing pain in my head finally died down. Which I'm grateful for."

Her blonde friend nodded with a smile. "Well, getting hit by a _hundred foot demon fox_ would do that." She stopped for a moment as a waitress arrived and asked for their drink orders. Ino ordered a green tea and Sakura a water.

"Don't remind me," Sakura groaned, holding her head. "I swear, my head didn't stop spinning for half an hour after I woke up. I had to tell Naruto I was fine so he'd calm down." She picked up the chopsticks and started playing with them absentmindedly.

"You should've seen how everyone freaked out though." Ino said laugh. "Kakashi-sensei tried his best to calm everyone down but once they saw Kurama they all lost it."

Sakura sighed, leaning on one elbow against the table. "I know. It's like they forget how Kurama helped save the village." The waitress returned with their drinks. They both thanked her before she left with their lunch orders. "It took me like fifteen minutes to get Naruto to stop apologizing back at the hospital." She said offhandedly.

Sakura didn't miss the knowing smirk that her friend wore. She was almost afraid to ask. "...What?"

"Oh, _nothing_." She answered, trying to look as innocent as she could. But Sakura could see the wheels turning in her head.

"What?" Sakura asked again. "I _know_ you want to say something, Ino."

Her friend smirked. "There you go, talking about Naruto again. You keep bringing him up like you wanna talk about him." She gave her friend a flirty look. "You're not cheating on me with my favorite blond, are you?"

The pinkette let out a groan, pointing her chopsticks at her. "First of all, we _aren't_ dating-"

"You're breaking up with me?" Ino joked with a fake pout. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"-And second, I told you that I _don't_ have feelings for him."

"Not _wanting_ them and not _having_ them are two completely different things, Sakura." Ino retorted.

"I told you that's not how it is." Sakura sighed. "Let's talk about something-"

This time Ino rolled her eyes dramatically. "You and I _both_ know that's bull, Sakura." She leaned in a little and lowered her voice so that they wouldn't be heard. " _I_ know that you like him. _You_ know that you like him. _Everyone_ except him knows that you like him. So why not just tell him?"

Sakura let out a 'huff'. "I _told_ you why, Ino." She really didn't want to have this conversation now. With everything going on today this wasn't the day to talk about it. Not that she _would've_ wanted to talk about it any other day.

"Well, tell me again." Ino pleaded. Her joking tone had gone away, replaced by a more serious one. "Because I _still_ don't get it. You've _admitted_ it to me that you like Naruto. That you have for awhile. And that you _know_ that he likes you back. Why don't you just tell him?"

"..."

Ino gave her friend an exasperated look. "I just don't know what you're so afraid of. I mean, what do you expect to happen? For him to turn you down? We both know that he likes you. I just- I don't get it-" Ino looked like she was having a hard time even trying to understand Sakura's reasoning. "What are you so afraid of?"

"That I'll break his heart again!" Sakura hissed out, a little angrily. She tried her best to keep her voice down. Thankfully the restaurant was busy so her sudden outburst wasn't heard. That would've been _so_ embarrassing.

"I'm sorry." She apologized. "I- I didn't mean to snap at you like that."

Ino just waved it off. "I know, don't worry 'bout it." She placed her elbows on the table, pushing her drink out of the way. "Listen, I-"

"I just don't want to hurt him again." Sakura admitted. "I lied to him about loving him once. And that nearly broke him… I just couldn't… I couldn't _do that_ to him again."

"But you won't." Ino interjected. "You have feelings for him now. You _wouldn't_ be lying. Sakura… you've told me all this before, but I still don't understand _why_. You wouldn't hurt him this time."

"How can you be so sure?" Sakura questioned quickly. "How can you be _so sure_ that _if_ we get together that he won't have to one day choose between me and his job as Hokage and he'll choose me and choose wrong?! Preventing him from becoming who he's supposed to be!"

The blonde said nothing for half minute. Only looking towards her friend with a sad look on her face. "...Sakura," She started hesitantly. "You don't think that… he'll see you as… a burden, do you?"

"..." The pinkette said nothing, only turning to face away from her best friend.

Ino took her hand. Speaking in a broken voice. "Oh, Sakura. He would never- I mean, this is _Naruto_ we're talking about. You _know_ that you could never do anything to make him upset."

"That's not true." Sakura countered. "I've hurt him before."

Ino let out a long breath. "Yeah, you're right. You have." She admitted. "But that was _before_ you realized what you were doing. You two are best friends now. You know him better than anyone. You know what he wants better than anyone."

Sakura played with her water glass. "He wants to become Hokage and learn more about his parents." She took a drink from her glass. "I'd just get in the way. He doesn't have time for-"

Whaaack!

"Owww!" Sakura cried, looking at her friend accusingly. "Did you just- why did you hit me?" She asked, rubbing the red spot on her arm.

"Because you're _being an idiot_ , Sakura!" Ino fumed, her hands waving around wildly. "With this stupid idea in your head that your not 'worthy' or whatever to be with him. He's just a guy, it doesn't matter what _either_ _of you_ have done in the past, you both have feelings for each other. So why not just get together so that both of you can be happy?"

The pinkette didn't say anything for a few seconds. Just looking down at the table, mulling over her words inside her head. After a few more seconds she let out a long breath. "...It's not that I don't feel 'worthy' of being with him." Sakura started. "I've gotten over my… self esteem issues." She took another long breath. "I _know_ that he likes me, and that he'd be happy to be together. And I feel the same… but…"

"...But what?" Ino prodded carefully.

"But I think that I would just mess things up again." Sakura admitted, looking down at the table. "He's been doing just fine with training to become Hokage without me. He's grown up. Maybe- maybe he doesn't need me to be happy like when we were kids. Maybe I'll just end up holding him back again."

Ino looked at her friend for a minute, mulling over the words that she had admitted to her. Ino could see were Sakura was coming from a little bit. At least, _why_ Sakura was seeing it that way. Sakura had always blamed herself for a part of why Naruto's life had happened like it did. Maybe if she had treated him better, given him a chance and dated him instead of chasing a man who _never_ loved her, maybe Naruto wouldn't have felt so lonely for so long. Even if he would never admit it, all of his friends knew that he had always been lonely until the group accepted him all those years ago. She had Shikamaru to thank for that.

Ino thought it over a little bit more before she leaned in to talk to her best friend. "Or maybe you two will help each other grow." She countered softly. "Maybe- maybe if you two get together you'll help each other become happy."

Sakura didn't say anything so Ino just continued. "Look, I won't push it anymore, okay? But just promise me one thing, okay, Sakura?" The pinkette nodded her head softly. "Just listen to your heart. If it says, and I mean _really_ says to let go of Naruto then listen to it. But if it says to confess to him, then do it. It may sound cliche, especially coming from me, but always listen to your heart."

"My heart's led me astray before." Sakura admitted in a low voice. "I don't know what to think anymore."

Ino nodded, accepting that. "I get that. I really do. I've had feelings for the wrong people before." Ino admitted before remembering that they had feelings for the same guy at one point. "But you knew that. Mr. Emo Hair and all."

"We're not the best judges of character when it comes to crushes, are we?" Sakura joked.

Ino smiled to herself, it was good that Sakura was still able to joke right now. "No we're not." The blonde agreed. "I mean, can you believe that I once had a crush on _Shikamaru_." She put on a mock disgusted face. "I mean, guh-ross! He was like a brother to me growing up."

Sakura chuckled. "A lot of people thought that you two would get together."

Ino shivered. " _No. Thank. You._ That crush lasted for like a week, okay? We were just hormonal teenagers and I was still learning about the other sex. I was just confused."

"Well it could've been worse," Sakura chuckled. "You could've had a crush on Kiba."

"Or Shino."

The two friends simultaneously grimaced and shivered in disgust. "No thank you." The both said at the same time, causing them to smile at each other.

"How are you, Sakura?" Ino asked. "Like really, really feeling?"

"I'm," Sakura hummed for a second. "Doing okay, I guess. It's just been real confusing lately. Y'know? I just feel that with everyday that passes that Naruto and I grow further apart."

Ino gave her friend a confused look as she tilted her head in question. "What do you mean?"

"It's just once he's Hokage we won't be able to hang out as much, you know. He's been so busy lately that we haven't been able to have lunch for awhile."

The blonde smiled. "You mean your lunch dates?" Ino joked.

Sakura groaned. "They're _not_ lunch dates. Just two friends-"

"Who both have feelings for each other." Ino interrupted.

"-Having lunch together." Sakura finished.

"In which he pays for you." Ino countered.

"He's _just_ being a gentleman." The pinkette argued.

"Sure." Ino sounded unconvinced.

Sakura played with the food on her plate absentmindedly. "It's just that I'm worried that once he becomes Hokage that we won't be able to see each other as much, y'know? He'll be busy in meetings and I'll be busy at the hospital. Plus, you know all the new security that the ANBU added to the Hokage Tower, you just can't walk right in anymore and see Kakashi-sensei like we used to."

"Riiiiight," Ino nodded. "Now we have to set an appointment with ' _what's her face'_ at the front desk."

"Kim." Sakura offered.

"Whatever." Ino waved off. "She has an attitude. Takes her job as 'Appointment Manager' too seriously. I mean, all she does is see if Kakashi-sensei is in a meeting and then let us up when he tells her to get back to work."

"True." The pinkette agreed.

"You'll have to get past her to just talk to Naruto when he becomes Hokage." Ino said.

"I _know_." Sakura groaned. "I don't think she likes me."

"That's because she has a crush on Naruto."

Sakura's eyes widened. "She does?" She asked a little too quickly. She inwardly cursed herself.

Ino smiled at her friend. "Yup." She popped the 'p'. "And what are you gonna do about it?"

Sakura gave her a confused look. "What do you mean?"

Ino rolled her eyes. "Well, she has eyes for _your_ man-"

"He's not _my_ man." Sakura interrupted.

"-And she's gonna be working in direct contact with him for however long she manages to keep her job." Ino said. "It _may_ surprise you, forehead, but other girls _do like Naruto_."

"I know that." Sakura mumbled. "I'm not an idiot-"

"Not if you ask me." Ino murmured.

"-But Naruto _is_ allowed to date other girls. Just because I like him doesn't make him mine."

"You're right." Ino agreed cheerfully before instantly dropping the voice. "Him loving _you_ makes him yours."

"Oh my _Kami_." Sakura groaned. "Let's not argue over 'like vs love' again, _please_."

"Whatever," Ino held up her hands in a giving up gesture. "But just think about what I said, okay? Sit down and decided if you're willing to live unhappily for the rest of your life just because you're scared to tell Naruto how you feel."

"I'm not unhappy." Sakura argued. "And I'm not scared either."

"If you weren't scared you would've already told him." Ino argued back. "And trust me, Sakura, you're my best friend, I can tell that you're not happy."

"But-"

"Look me in the eye and tell me you'd be happy not being with him for the rest of your life." Ino interrupted, her voice serious and daring. She waited a few seconds but when Sakura turned her gaze away and didn't say anything Ino knew she was right.

"I swear I'm not trying to push," Ino said softly, reaching for her hand. "Well, _kinda_ , but I just want what's best for you. For you _and_ Naruto. You two are my best friends, excluding Shikamaru, and he's happily engaged. That just leaves you two. I want you two to be happy."

"...I know." Sakura admitted. She opened her mouth but couldn't find the words right away. "...I just…. It's hard, okay? Not a lot of people want us together, you know that. I've heard more than my fair share of people calling me out for what I've done to him… Sometimes-sometimes I wonder if they're right. That I shouldn't be with him."

"Well _screw_ those guys," Ino said angrily. "They don't get to decide who you get to be with. You want to be with Naruto, he wants to be with you, so just do it. Fuck whatever anyone says about it."

Sakura blinked. "You seem very upset about this…"

"Well _yeah_ ," Ino said, her voice rising slightly. "People are insulting my best friend! You know that I'd kick their asses if they'd ever say it to me."

Sakura smiled. "I know. And it means a lot that you'd do that for me."

"Think nothing of it, forehead." Ino waved off. "I know you punched ' _what's her face'_ last year when she tried spreading the rumor that I was pregnant with Shikamaru's kid."

"Mina." Sakura offered. "She _may_ have deserved it but I still feel kind of bad-"

"Yeah, _her_ ," Ino sneered. "We have each others backs. No one can mess with us."

"Like when we were kids." Sakura smiled.

"Whenever we weren't fighting each other," Ino mused. "Good times."

"That's one way to put it I guess." Sakura shrugged, taking a sip of her water.

Ino glanced up to the clock on the wall and groaned. "Ugh, I have to get going, Sakura. My mom needed my help at the shop with bouquets for the ceremony today."

"That's fine, I get it." Sakura replied. "I was thinking of talking to Naruto before the ceremony anyway."

Ino's eyes widened. "Ooooh-"

"Don't even." Sakura warned.

"-You gonna tell him or what?"

The pinkette just sighed. "...Maybe-"

Que Ino squealing .

"-I said _maybe_. Just not now, it's not the time for it." Sakura iterated. "I just wanna talk to him, y'know, with today being _the_ anniversary and all."

Ino nodded, remembering. It was as sad of a day as it was happy. It was the two year anniversary of the death of Master Jiraiya. "You're right, his death hit Whiskers harder than anyone. Except for maybe Lady Tsunade." She looked to her best friend seriously. "You make sure that you're there for him today, okay? He won't admit it but it still hurts him."

"I know," Sakura nodded. "He was always there for me, it's the least I can do for him."

"Good," Ino said as she stood. "Now go find that knucklehead and see how he's doing. We don't need him depressed for the ceremony."

Sakura stood as well. "I'll just have to find him first, you know how he ran off last year."

Ino reached over to give her friend a goodbye hug. "Well if anyone can find wherever Whiskers hides, it's you. See you at the ceremony, forehead."

"See ya, Ino."

oooOooo

 **(Konoha Memorial Gardens)**

Naruto sat on a park bench across from a statue, gazing at it with eyes looking elsewhere. He had been sitting at this bench for… how long had it been? He hadn't been keeping track. The Gardens had been remodeled greatly over the last few years. New sections and memorials had been added for every person who died during the last war, regardless of what village they were from. Naruto made sure to come here every year to pay his respects to everyone who had died. _Everyone who he couldn't save._

Not many people visited this particular statue, since the ninja it was dedicated to didn't have many friends, and was older than most of the village, so Naruto didn't have many interruptions as he sat and watched it. He tried talking to it, but it never felt right, or more accurately, _he_ never felt right talking to it. So he just sat and let his mind wander. So much that he didn't even register a certain someone sit down next to him until she put her hand on his.

Naruto blinked back to reality. "S-sakura-chan?" He asked surprised. "How did you know I'd be here?"

She just smiled, though her smile didn't reach her eyes. She glanced up to the statue they were in front of. "Because I _know_ you, Naruto. You _know_ that he wouldn't want you-"

"I was just paying my respects." Naruto interrupted.

Sakura didn't say anything to that. They both knew that he was lying. Instead she just sat next to him for a few minutes in silence and didn't comment when a few rogue tears ran down his chin. She had never been very close to Jiraiya-sama, but she knew that he was a great man despite his pervy actions. Lady Tsunade loved him, how much, Sakura didn't know for sure, but Sakura knew she did. Sakura also knew that Jiraiya-sama had been a father figure, the closest thing to a father figure, that Naruto ever had. So she knew that his death affected her best friend greatly. She just wished that she could do something for him.

It was a few minutes later that Sakura stood, still holding his hand. She silently tugged on his hand to tell him to get up. He looked up at her a little confused but finally stood after she tugged on his hand again. Once he was stood he gave one last look to his deceased Sensei and she led him away from Jiraiya's statue and further into the center of the Gardens, where a larger, better looking, in her opinion, statue stood at the center of a fountain.

It was after a few seconds that Naruto seemed to realize where they were going. "Sakura-chan," He grumbled. " _I don't want to_ -"

"Well _I_ do." She interrupted him, tugging on his hand. "Come on, you know that I like the statue. Let's go check it out."

Naruto grumbled again but eventually followed her to the center of the Gardens. The center of the Gardens had been remodeled the most after the war, formed into a large circle with a large, stone monument dedicated to each Elemental Nation with their unique symbol carved at the top. In front of each monument stood a plaque listing every person who died during the war that came from that village. It always made Naruto uneasy to come here. It was as if the souls of the fallen seemed to hang around the monuments, giving the area a somber atmosphere. Surrounding each monument stood dozens of bouquets of flowers, gifts, offerings, food and burning incense. Making the area feel more like a cemetary than a Garden, to Naruto at least.

They then came to the exact center of the Gardens, an area that Naruto didn't make it a habit to come to too often. They stopped just before a vast, man made pond/fountain at the center of the Gardens. The entire fountain was engulfed by willow trees swaying slightly in the wind, flowers of every shade and color, trimmed bushes of every kind lined the benches that encircled the fountain, to give the illusion that the fountain blended into the nature of the Gardens. Bees hovered from flower to flower, birds sung from the trees, rabbits and other small animals dashed from bush to bush. The entire area smelled of cherry blossoms and sweet fruit. All in all, the Garden was the most beautiful memorial that Naruto had ever seen. He looked at the center of the fake island at the center of the fountain/pond and his mood dropped.

He hated it.

At the top of the small island stood a single, stone statue of Naruto. His face was cold and stoic to Naruto, his features exaggerated to make him seem more serious, it's height, which was triple his, gave it an intimidating aura. A long, flowing cloak fell from his shoulders and carved in a way to make it seem like it was sailing in the wind. The statue stood atop a stone platform, engraved with the symbol for the Leaf village. On a large plaque in front of the railings around the pond one could read of the ' _great hero, Naruto Uzumaki, who single-handedly saved the village from Pain and the Akatsuki, who would later save the entire world from Madara Uchiha.'_ If you continued to read further, and Naruto couldn't understand _why you would_ , you would be able to read his entire life story, ' _how he was born an outcast of the village, before nobly stepping up to defend his village in its greatest hour of need.'_ Naruto loved how they completely glossed over how he was ostracized by the entire village for his entire childhood, looked down upon, called a demon or a monster, used as a boogeyman by parents to frighten their children into behaving, spat on, driven to depression, forced to be separated from the other children by frightened parents, having his house graffitied and vandalized by the _very people_ who now called him a hero. Being treated like no more than a burden for his entire life.

Yeah, Naruto _loved_ how they seemed to forget that on the plaque. He had half a mind to have it either fixed or just have the entire thing taken done once he became Hokage.

Sakura watched as Naruto looked at his own statue, she knew that he hated it. He didn't _want_ a statue to memorialize when he saved the village from Pain. He didn't _want_ a statue that celebrated his life next to all of the memorials of the dead. Sakura could understand that. They stood in front of the plaque that detailed Naruto's life, she could see his hand clenched in anger as he tried to not look at it. She silently took his hand. He stopped instantly and looked at her, expecting her to tell him not to let it get to him.

Instead she kept her eyes fixed on the statue before looking around the Gardens, a content sigh escaped her lips. She spoke several seconds after. "This is my favorite statue in the entire Gardens." She mentioned casually as if it were nothing.

Naruto's brow rose and he opened his mouth to speak but she cut him off before he could start. "Do you know why?" She asked without looking at him.

"..." He didn't say anything, just stood there and let her speak.

She continued to look around the Gardens, taking in all of the beauty for half a minute before answering. "It's a constant reminder that someone is always here for me- _I mean_ , the village. If anything were to ever happen, that we would have someone to turn to." She hoped he didn't catch her words slip, but from the sign of his face he didn't.

He wore an uncomfortable face as he let out a sigh. "...I told them not to build the stupid statue." He mumbled. "But Kakashi-sensei went over my head and had it built _anyway_."

"That's because he's _proud_ of you, Naruto." Sakura stressed softly. "The _entire_ village looks up to you now."

"The village knows nothing about me." He muttered, gesturing at the plaque with his chin. "They just write down stuff like this to make them feel better about themselves." He was silent for a few more seconds as he watched a dragonfly skim across the water. "...I always dreamed about having a life like this as a kid, but now…"

"...Now what…?" She asked after he didn't say anything for a while.

"Now I just feel hollow. Like it's all fake. Like-like after everything I've done I still feel separated from all of them like when I was a kid." His face turned into a disgusted one. Sakura could see his now free hands as they had a death grip on the metal railing. "...My life is _so_ much better now, everyone in the village loves me, kids come up to me just to say hi, I have a better apartment, I have a fridge full of food unlike when I was a kid, I have all the money I could ever want, I can come and go as I please, I get treated with respect… I…" He trailed off.

She took a small step closer, looking up to him. "Naruto?" She asked. " _What_ are you trying to say?"

He was having a hard time trying to put it into words, she could tell that easily. He let out a breath. He looked away from her. "I'm not happy." He said simply. "I _should_ be, I have almost everything I could ever want… But I'm not happy."

 _Almost everything, except you._ Is how she took his words. It made her feel even more terrible.

Then after a few more seconds of silence. "What's _wrong_ with me?" He asked, his voice just above a whisper.

Sakura grabbed his hand and reached for his face with the other, turning his face to look at her. When he finally looked at her he could see tears in her eyes. It nearly made him cry as well. "There is _nothing wrong_ with you, Naruto!" Her tone had a feeling of finality in it, like her word was law. Like the point couldn't be argued. Her tough faced broke away, she bit her lip, trying to hold everything back. "You've had a tough life. Nothing was ever fair for you… People treated you terribly, _I_... treated… you terribly" Her voice faltered, causing her to stop.

She shook the tears away. "How people treated you was _wrong_. _Nothing_ you've ever done was wrong. You're the greatest person I've ever met, Naruto. I- I-" She turned slightly so that she was fully facing him. Her mind was screaming so loudly to _tell him_ , to _confess to him_ how much she loved him, _to kiss him_ and to _promise that she would never let him feel that way again_ … But... she couldn't do it. She didn't want to risk hurting him even more. _Kami_ knew that she wouldn't be able to live with herself if she ever did that to him again.

' _Dammit, Sakura!'_ She screamed to herself. ' _Just tell him. Look him in the eye and TELL HIM! He's looking at you now to say something, just SAY SOMETHING!'_

"What would make you happy?" She asked before she could stop herself, leaning into him slightly. "What could I do to make you happy?"

Her words shocked him, she could tell, but he still didn't say anything. He just grit his teeth and averted his eyes from her.

' _Just say it, Naruto!'_ She thought. ' _Just say that you want to be with me, I'll say it back! I_ _ **swear**_ _to kami_! _Just say it! Tell me those three little words, I'll say them back, I promise! I'll prove it to you! Just tell me… please."_ Her pleading thoughts turned weak in her mind. ' _Please…'_

Instead he just pulled away from her and turned back to the statue. His sudden movement almost made her stumble, her eyes widened at his sudden action. "...There's _nothing_ you can do, Sakura-chan." He whispered softly. "I just wasn't meant to have a happy life."

She reached for him, but she was too slow. Just like her words. She was _never_ fast enough. Never _good_ enough. "Th-that's not true, Naruto! I-"

"Sorry, Sakura-chan." He interrupted.

"-love you." But before she could utter her final two words, he was gone. Disappeared as if he were never there. The only sign he was actually there at all was the faint signature of his chakra as it faded after his departure.

He teleported away from her using the Flying Thunder God Technique.

He left, ran away, left _her_ , before she could confess. He didn't hear, he'd _never_ hear her words. The pinkette dropped to the ground and cried. Not caring how pitiful she looked. _Why couldn't he have waited two more seconds?_ What did she have to do to make up for every horrible thing she ever did so that she could be with him? Did _kami_ just hate her? Did she not _deserve_ to be with Naruto? Was _this_ her sign to give it up? Sakura didn't know, she just cried.

Mad. She was mad at herself for waiting so long to tell him. If she hadn't been so scared… If she would've just given him a chance all those years ago…

Her life was always just a giant 'What if'.

Maybe… maybe she just _didn't_ deserve him after all. Maybe this was a sigh from _kami._

Maybe she should just stop trying.

* * *

 **(Author's Note)**

 **Wow… that got much… heavier than I meant it to. A complete 180 tone shift from last chapter, huh? Well, hope you liked it anyway. I was planning to have more after this but I felt that it was best to end here, I'll just move the stuff I didn't get to next chapter, don't worry.**

 **How'd you like the quote for the Chapter Title? It took awhile to find a good one about a garden that fit the context of the chapter. Hope it was okay.**

 **Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you thought of the chapter with a Review. Go ahead and Follow/Favorite while you're at it. Check out my Profile and answer my Poll of you could. Also follow me on Twitter for updates.**

 **Have a nice day,**

 **Hephaestus**


	3. IMPORTANT UPDATE: PLEASE READ

**UPDATE NOTICE:**

Hey everyone, I have some unfortunate news:

I regret to inform you all, but this story has been cancelled. I ran a Poll on my Twitter asking whether or not the story should be dropped in favor of my new story, 'Champion of Olympus' and while slight, it was decided that I should drop the story. I'm sorry to any of you who wanted this story to continue, but I decided when I made it that I would use Twitter to decide my stories, and my followers on Twitter voted for it to be dropped. As of now I do not have any intentions to ever continue it, but one day(if there is a lot of support and I have time) I _might_ bring it back to at least finish it, but not expand upon it in any way. Sorry again to those of you who wanted it to continue, but all I can say is to follow me on Twitter an vote in the Polls I put up on there. My Poll on here is to gauge the general crowd I have for each story, but I give my followers on Twitter precedent. I apologize again, but honestly I did not have the same passion for this story as I once did and I told myself in the beginning that if I didn't enjoy writing the story, that I would drop it. I will leave the story up for future Reviews but I ask that you all remain respectful towards my decision. I do not appreciate rude PM's or Reviews.

Have a great day,

Hephaestus


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